You pinged me stating that you never heard Sowell lecture about the benefits of gouging as if his opinion meant something to you(claiming you read his books) . But apparently it was just a bluff by you and you don't care and don't understand what he is saying; based on that response to his editorial on the subject.
Sowell completely destroys the argument for anti-gouging laws. Its not about fairness, we let sellers make money because that works the best for buyers in the long run.
NOW Read it and then explain why Sowell is wrong when he says these laws are bad for us, if you really disagree.
Prices are not just arbitrary numbers plucked out of the air. Nor are the price levels that you happen to be used to any more special or “fair” than other prices that are higher or lower.
What do prices do? They not only allow sellers to recover their costs, they force buyers to restrict how much they demand. More generally, prices cause goods and the resources that produce goods to flow in one direction through the economy rather than in a different direction.
'Price gouging' in Florida (Townhall Columnists Thomas Sowell 9/14/2004)
Sowell wrote: “What if prices were frozen where they were before all this happened?
Those who got to the hotel first would fill up the rooms and those who got there later would be out of luck — and perhaps out of doors or out of the community. At higher prices, a family that might have rented one room for the parents and another for the children will now double up in just one room because of the “exorbitant” prices. That leaves another room for someone else”
Maybe. But I ask why the fastest runner to the hotel should not have the room instead of the person with the bigger wallet? If rooms are four times the normal price the person with money can also rent two rooms, one for the kids and one for mom and dad. Maybe one for the pets too.
How is that any better than the poorer bloke renting two rooms? Or the fastest runner?
The higher price in an emergency certainly would benefit the hotel owner..the higher price might cause some to double up in one room if local laws allow it.
But what of the couple without children? It's just as cold outside for them as for the single guy with more money than them.
So “gouging” would benefit some and hurt others. It's just a matter of who we want to favor and why. That's why I say prices are a form of rationing and raising or lowering prices by any means always benefits some and harms others.
You pinged me stating that you never heard Sowell lecture about the benefits of gouging as if his opinion meant something to you(claiming you read his books) .
What books of his have you read?
I “pinged” you in response to your post to me.