Three Cheers For "Price Gougers"

TechCentralStation ^ | September 2, 205 | Rand Simberg

[The Red Zone]

Did you have a point with that?

Yup, that you're proferring garbage in guise of an argument. Your credibility should follow.

[OCgolfer]

That 1000% markup is also an incentive for more suppliers to flood the market with more generators. In the end, isn't it better to have more generators than not in those circumstances? And a flood of generators will quickly bring the prices down.

[FreedomCalls]

Of course Economics 101 says zilch about this.

That's in Psychology 101.

[The Red Zone]

The scum did not cause the local population of generators to multiply like, well, flashbunnies. They simply swept it up and resold it (to those with enough prescience to store up a quantity of currency that would leave them in danger of a confiscation should they have the misfortune to come across a drug SWAT team).

[KingNo155]

You hit that nail on the head, when the Government mandates price controls we will all pay the highest price no matter where we shop.

[The Red Zone]

Sufficient to say that your "basic economics" ignores a huge motivator of commerce.

[FreedomCalls]

Price spikes can also encourage people to hoard goods.

What about the case of the hotel room prices cited yesterday? Normal price is $50, motel raises it to $100 when a bunch of people show up. Family of four usually gets two rooms -- one for the kids, one for the parents. With the price doubled, they decide to get one room instead and use cots thus freeing up another room for the people wanting rooms. For the people waiting it's a choice of no room at the same price of $50 or a actually getting a room at $100.

In this case there's no incentive to get a room while you can like you surmise would happen if the price spikes to $100.

[flashbunny]

--- Yup, that you're proferring garbage in guise of an argument. Your credibility should follow.---

Yes, and such pearls of wisdom by you should do loads for your credibility:

"I think people would want more joy out of their ride.

34 posted on 09/03/2005 12:43:51 AM CDT by The Red Zone"

I swear, I thought bayourod the open border fan was the worst here, but you closet socialists are absolutely abysmal at being able to debate a subject factually or even stick to it without going off on unrelated tangents.

[The Red Zone]

they decide to get one room instead and use cots

Generally, it's illegal to sleep more in a hotel room than it has beds for.

[FreedomCalls]

(Reality cannot be changed by wishful thinking, good intentions, or legislation.)

Good tag line! I would add that many on the left also think that history can be changed by wishful thinking, good intentions, or legislation too.

[The Red Zone]

If you keep giving moronic examples, I will keep showing how they are moronic.

[hoboken109]

so there is no extra profit going to the big gas companies over this.That the huge increases are only to cover higher expecses due to huge demand?

[Veritas et equitas ad Votum]

Again, is it preferable that everyone waits in line at Walmart for the next shipment of "appropriately" priced generators, if they ever show up, or for people willing to pay 1000 or 2000 to be able to do so, thus leaving more of the cheaper ones to those who need them?

[flashbunny]

Forget it. These socialist wunderkids know more than distinguished authors and professors with doctorates in economics. They know more than documented history, too.

Every single time price controls have been tried, the effects have been worse than no price controls. But hey, if we try it THEIR way (which apparently is secret, because no plan has been offered, just complaints), we'll be living in a paradise. A worker's paradise no doubt, comrade!

[FreedomCalls]

However, before Andrew, human dirt would show up and corner the market in something like power generators and then sell them after the storm for a 1000% markup. That doesn't happen anymore.

So how many people will die because of that law? If you have a kid on a home dialysis machine and your power goes out would you rather wait until power is restored and your kid dies, or would it be better to purchase a generator marked up 1000% in the meantime?

[Ichneumon]

Raising prices sharply can have the opposite effect, however... "let's get this gas before it vanishes altogether."

But you're missing the fact that in that case, the market fixes things by addressing the *other* side of the equation -- when people rush to buy things at "sharply" higher prices, this prompts suppliers to fall all over themselves to rush to bring to that market "sharply" higher supplies (for the obvious reason that they want to reap a lot of revenue). This has two positive effects: It ensures that demand will be met (i.e. stocks won't run out, or if they do, they'll be soon replenished), *and* that before long prices will start to slide back down (as rising supplies again meet or exceed the demand).

Same psychology that leads all too many to "buy high" in the stock market. Of course Economics 101 says zilch about this.

Actually, "Economics 101" says a lot about this -- it says what I describe above, and the essay which started this thread even talks about it.

[Veritas et equitas ad Votum]

I'm sure it would never dawn on the government to temporarily waive these laws.

/sarcasm

Actually, would it dawn on the government to do that?

[The Red Zone]

Act your Rage.

[Lurker]

All we can do is thank our lucky stars that they don't have the power to effect their ill considered schemes.

I could be wrong, but I think there was a really big country that tried to decree prices for market goods just a few years ago. For some reason, we were really scared of them.

The name of it escapes me right now.....perhaps you can help.

L