Posted on 10/23/2018 11:50:30 AM PDT by rktman
Thirteen states — Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia — have enacted laws to combat what is seen as price gouging in the wake of natural disasters. Price gouging is legally defined as charging 10 to 25 percent more for something than you charged for it during the month before an emergency. Sellers convicted of price gouging face prison terms and fines.
Price gouging in the wake of natural disasters is often seen as evil exploitation by sellers to rip off desperate customers. Let's hold off on that conclusion until after you give thought to some very important questions. First let's see what we can agree upon.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnsnews.com ...
Exactly, just think of the contractors, laborers and goods the disaster area need. The only way they will get more is to pay more to get them from other areas.
Price control means shortage.
If you’re not willing to pay the price at that time, maybe you don’t really need it.
A shortage means no one can get it, even if they’re willing to pay.
“Price gouging is legally defined as charging 10 to 25 percent more for something than you charged for it during the month before an emergency.”
THAT’S IT? 10-25% increase? Jail for THAT?
Way to ensure everything of increased value disappears immediately into hoarders’ storage.
Let prices rise, and ensure essentials are available to those who actually need them.
LOL! After living in FL for 24 years and going through several trumpicanes, the price of comfort is pretty high. Just how comfy do you want to be? ;-)
A high price encourages others to risk the obstacles to bring more supply into the market.
If there is no reward, who would run the risk of flood, traffic, looters and delay to bring needed supplies to an area?
Supply and demand?
~~~
Suspended, apparently.
If you own the last 300 cases of bottled water inside of an emergency zone, you are allowed to restrict the quantity that individuals can buy (good luck controlling that) but you cannot make a higher profit on the product. Scarcity be damned.
I can see both sides of this argument. Honestly, someone charging an 88 year old lady on social security $850 for water is offensive to me, but so is telling the store with shelves about to go bare that they can’t obey the laws of supply and demand.
I guess the smart people will charge 50% more to escape the gouging window.
There is no such thing as price gouging. It is merely supply and demand.
Anti “price gougers” simply make it worse for those in need on the demand side.
Heck, anytime a democrat is in power- it’s a massive price gouge to the nation
Or they die of dehydration because they couldn’t afford the gouged price ...
How much cash do you have in your hand right now?
Think that will last you weeks at regular prices, let alone gouged if your bank, and every bank within 50 miles is a pile of rubble, and the digital infrastructure to support your credit cards id down for 100s of miles?
When you are in survival mode, not inconvenience mode, which large scale natural disasters create, at least temporarily, to think he who has the gold wins is a good policy is idiotic.
Price controls never work, ever.
And there are no exceptions. None.
Some out of state tree guys charges and elderly couple in Panama City $80,000 to clean up a dozen trees a couple of weeks ago.
Guys like that should be run out of town on a rail.
“dehydration”
More people die of dehydration when the water is gone.
Sorta what price controls do.
BTW, I have yet to hear of anyone actually dying of dehydration or hunger during hurricanes, earthquakes, tornados, etc..
What I always hear are folks complaining about prices.
If you haven’t heard of folks dying of dehydration during natural disasters such as hurricanes its because you aren’t bothering to look...
https://www.nola.com/hurricane/index.ssf/2009/08/answers_are_scarce_in_study_of.html
Most bodies are found long after the fact when a disaster strikes, long after the cameras and headlines have moved on.
Gouging isn’t just on optional items like Gasoline... its on everything.
The fools who believe Market Uber Alles are Just as big of fools as the folks who believe in Goverment Uber Alles.
They work pretty well for creating shortages.
Does this apply to taxes?
The last para of the article you linked mentions dehydration, but for folks trapped in attics.
Meaning, even if water were being handed out charitably, they wouldn’t have been able to get to it. Under those conditions, there is no price because nothing is there.
For anyone thinking price control is a good thing - think Venezuela and the price of toilet paper there.
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