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>In a disaster, demand changes. If you artificially keep prices from increasing, you'll have shortages. You'll have shortages anyway. The idea here is that in
by frgtpsswrdlame 9y ago
>In a disaster, demand changes. If you artificially keep prices from increasing, you'll have shortages.
You'll have shortages anyway. The idea here is that in a disaster it's immoral to ration essentials by wealth.
- bklyn11201 9y agoI agree it's immoral to price gouge during a disaster. While rationing solves the allocation issue, it provides zero incentive for people to introduce more supply by opening up warehouses of goods or re-routing airplanes from other regions to fly more people out. A man during Katrina bought 19 generators, drove 600 miles, and sold them for 2x his cost. I would argue his actions were moral and helpful. He was jailed for price gouging. http://abcnews.go.com/2020/Stossel/story?id=1954352&page=1 http://abcnews.go.com/2020/Stossel/story?id=1954352&page=1
- frgtpsswrdlame 9y agoI don't understand your position, do you believe gouging is immoral or moral? You've stated both.
- josefresco 9y ago"zero incentive for people to introduce more supply" Of course! That's why we have government, and pay taxes, so that things like disaster relief can be executed without working about "economic incentives". See health care. ducks
- refurb 9y agoFEMA to the rescue! /sarcasm
- josefresco 9y agoFEMA might have been a joke during Katrina, but that doesn't mean we should simply blow it up and turn to the "free market". Fix FEMA or your government if they are dysfunctional.
- monocasa 9y ago> While rationing solves the allocation issue, it provides zero incentive for people to introduce more supply by opening up warehouses of goods or re-routing airplanes from other regions to fly more people out. And yet http://www.denverpost.com/2017/08/29/hurricane-harvey-canned-water-oskar-blues-millercoors-anheuser-busch-texas/ http://www.denverpost.com/2017/08/29/hurricane-harvey-canned...
- Veelox 9y agoSay we have two lines. One line for disaster charity contains water for free but you have to wait two hours and you only get two bottles per person per day. The other line with Joe Capitalist where you can get as much water as you want right now for $10 a bottle. Is there any problem with having both lines in a disaster? I would say no, because it increases the total supply of water and allows those without wealth to get more since the people with wealth will spend it to get water from Joe Capitalist.
- kemitche 9y agoAnd those with wealth would then not be in the "free" line, which would slightly reduce demand on that line