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In Defense of Price Gouging
American Enterprise Institute | John Lott

Posted on 09/01/2005 4:22:37 AM PDT by chronic_loser

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To: KC_Conspirator
Yes, the "free" market. This same market that these companies paid lobbyists on Capitol Hill to shut out all competetors. Go to hell you bum.

That's called "rent seeking"; so-called capitalists beg the government to indulge in just-a-teensy-bitta fascism for their benefit. The long-term solution requires depriving government of the power to do these fascistic favors.

201 posted on 09/01/2005 6:56:22 AM PDT by Shalom Israel (Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.)
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To: HiTech RedNeck
Now you're talking.

But do you really think the MSM is going to put the blame on the environuts?

Not any more than they will put the blame for millions of Third World deaths due to malaria on Rachel Carson and those who believed her.

202 posted on 09/01/2005 6:56:23 AM PDT by George Smiley (This tagline deliberately targeted journalists.)
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To: chronic_loser
The conspiracy people on this forum could benefit by the following.


203 posted on 09/01/2005 6:57:19 AM PDT by Protagoras (My liberal neighbor is more dangerous to my freedom than Osama Bin Laden.)
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To: Smokin' Joe
The price of a gallon of regular unleaded went from $2.65 to $3.16 here in 4 days

The price of gas went from $2.69/gal to $8.99/gal (at one station) in 12 hours. BUT

SO WHAT?

Scarcity increases price. Increasing price decreases demand thus reducing scarcity. Increasing supply lowers price.

204 posted on 09/01/2005 6:58:59 AM PDT by from occupied ga (Your government is your most dangerous enemy, and Bush is no conservative)
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To: flashbunny

Your strawman that any dare by mortals to meddle in the affairs of Economius, no matter what the scope, will bring an end to the whole society, is so laughable it does not require further answer from me. It is self-disproving; there has NEVER been a society that has operated by your lights.


205 posted on 09/01/2005 6:59:36 AM PDT by HiTech RedNeck (No wonder the Southern Baptist Church threw Greer out: Only one god per church! [Ann Coulter])
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To: HiTech RedNeck

Uh.

Ok.

You REALLY have some issues.


206 posted on 09/01/2005 7:01:16 AM PDT by flashbunny (Always remember to bring a towel!)
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To: flashbunny

You certainly do.


207 posted on 09/01/2005 7:01:41 AM PDT by HiTech RedNeck (No wonder the Southern Baptist Church threw Greer out: Only one god per church! [Ann Coulter])
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To: from occupied ga
thus reducing scarcity

Except for those whom it has priced out altogether.

208 posted on 09/01/2005 7:03:09 AM PDT by HiTech RedNeck (No wonder the Southern Baptist Church threw Greer out: Only one god per church! [Ann Coulter])
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To: Alberta's Child
--"A society will not last long," he said (I paraphrase), "if it is filled with otherwise intelligent people whose response to a bread shortage is to burn the bakery to the ground."--

There are many here, sadly, that would do just that.

Not with their own hands. No, they're not savages. Instead they'll do it by proxy with the government. Like civilized, caring people, they'll make everyone's life more miserable to assuage their misguided conscience.
209 posted on 09/01/2005 7:03:49 AM PDT by flashbunny (Always remember to bring a towel!)
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To: HiTech RedNeck
Invoking rationing during WWII is, imo, a disingenious argument. That was a time when people lived near where they worked, on balance, not 30-70 miles away. When much of the fuel was being sent elsewhere to fuel the war effort, and by and large, before much of the Middle Eastern oil was even discovered. (also before offshore drilling)

Part of this crunch is caused by people's own choices in where they want to live, what they want to drive, etc.

Those of us who need a vehicle which does not get the greatest mileage, or live/work in areas which have limited options for alternative transportation have been paying for the whims of the masses for a while, now, and will continue to.

I must say this, though. I am simply stunned at how many people who claim to be conservatives were/are screaming for the government to intervene the second gasoline prices started going up.

No one complained at paying $19.99 for a hollywood DVD (cost to produce? about $1.00)

I don't recall much griping when the 4WD was weenied out to the SUV and the price went up 4 fold.

I don't even remember hearing people carp about the price of bottled water at $7.00 per gallon (Evian, convenience store prices, by the liter). Amazing, simply amazing.

210 posted on 09/01/2005 7:03:54 AM PDT by Smokin' Joe (God save us from the fury of the do-gooders!)
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To: Hemingway's Ghost
That's like saying that all generalizations are false.

: ^ )

At least you didn't quip that if all the economists in the world were laid end to end they still wouldn't reach a conclusion, or that you can know where a quantum physicist is, or which way he's travelling, but not both.

The law of gravity and the law of supply and demand are both logical constructs which were developed to explain certain observable and reproducible phenomena.

Having said that, I find that the Austrian economists have created conceptual models which reflect reality far better than any of the other schools.

And my quip about dizziness was meant to comment upon what appears to be a common phenomenon:

the loss of critical thinking skills induced by the viewing of the numbers displayed upon a gasoline pump.

211 posted on 09/01/2005 7:05:51 AM PDT by George Smiley (This tagline deliberately targeted journalists.)
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To: from occupied ga
Scarcity increases price.

Not just that-

The belief that scarcity exists will also increase price.

212 posted on 09/01/2005 7:07:35 AM PDT by George Smiley (This tagline deliberately targeted journalists.)
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To: HiTech RedNeck

Seriously.

You make bogus economic arguments based on emotion, jealousy, and anger, instead of repeatedly proven facts.

When called on them, you raise side issues as a distraction.

When called on them, you abandon the side issues.

Then you somehow find a way to cite God or the bible, as if He / It is endorsing your misguided views like a celebrity endorses pepsi or coke.

Then you just get snippy and start attacking, like the true "christian" you are.


213 posted on 09/01/2005 7:07:51 AM PDT by flashbunny (Always remember to bring a towel!)
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To: George Smiley

well said!!! I like it.


214 posted on 09/01/2005 7:08:19 AM PDT by chronic_loser
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To: chronic_loser; All

Looting and price gouging= taking advantage of a bad situation.


215 posted on 09/01/2005 7:09:17 AM PDT by amosmoses
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To: Smokin' Joe
I must say this, though. I am simply stunned at how many people who claim to be conservatives were/are screaming for the government to intervene the second gasoline prices started going up.

Helping the supply chain can be part of that formula, but if governmental resources (read people's taxes) go into that, we jolly well have the right to expect a quid pro quo from the business being helped.

216 posted on 09/01/2005 7:10:25 AM PDT by HiTech RedNeck (No wonder the Southern Baptist Church threw Greer out: Only one god per church! [Ann Coulter])
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To: from occupied ga
Scarcity increases price. Increasing price decreases demand thus reducing scarcity. Increasing supply lowers price.

This I agree with.

$8.99 is a bit over the top, imho.

BTW, I am from North Dakota, If we want to see a hurricane here we either have to travel or watch TV.

Increasing price here will do little to decrease demand. There are no public transportation systems, and everything is pretty far apart. You still have to get to the places you have to get to.

217 posted on 09/01/2005 7:10:37 AM PDT by Smokin' Joe (God save us from the fury of the do-gooders!)
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To: flashbunny

Tell me what a "Christian" is, if you are such an expert.


218 posted on 09/01/2005 7:10:54 AM PDT by HiTech RedNeck (No wonder the Southern Baptist Church threw Greer out: Only one god per church! [Ann Coulter])
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To: flashbunny
jealousy

Document any jealousy that I expressed.

219 posted on 09/01/2005 7:12:39 AM PDT by HiTech RedNeck (No wonder the Southern Baptist Church threw Greer out: Only one god per church! [Ann Coulter])
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To: antivenom

I dont think the service stations are getting rich .I'm asking abou tthe oil companies themselves ..the big shots...I'm simply asking if part of the high prices are simply for profit above and beyond the expense of the supplies . It seems to me that some here are saying that the high prices are simply to cover expenses and that the big oil companies are simply covering expenses these days and not pocketing even more money because of the situation.
By the way I'm up north and I'm just imagining my heating bill for this coming winter.


220 posted on 09/01/2005 7:12:52 AM PDT by hoboken109
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