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While that is in fact the stated reason for the law against price gouging, that rarely happens in the real world What does end up happening is something (like

by syshum 7y ago

While that is in fact the stated reason for the law against price gouging, that rarely happens in the real world What does end up happening is something (like a outbreak or natural disaster) causes a regional shortage of a good, which is often extended because there is no real incentive to divert goods to fill the shortage. Today that if often mitigated because of large national companies like CVS, Walmart, Lowes, Home Dept, etc who will move their supplies around based on normal prices But in some situations Mr. Bill that owns the local store may have an excess supply of Good X, and would be incentivized to move them to an area of shortage if the price was higher. With Price gouging laws he will not bother. Further Increasing in prices also in some ways allows for people with the greatest NEED for the items to actually get them, and discouraging hoarding.

mattlutze 7y ago
Actually I took the gas price bit from specific experience and saw enough examples in a quiet Midwest area growing up to expect my experiences weren’t unique. The other issue is people, like in the article, just buying up a bunch of stuff so that other people literally can only buy from the opportunist. Consider the battle for concert tickets, which the band might sell for $20 but a scalper would buy and try to resell for $100. Yes it’s technically possible, but it’s fine for a society to determine it’s better for everyone if you’re not allowed to take advantage of people’s needs or vulnerabilities like that (when it comes to health supplies, for example).
- syshum 7y ago
  >>The other issue is people, like in the article, just buying up a bunch of stuff so that other people literally can only buy from the opportunist. While I am sure there are opportunists as you call them, that is not the primary reason people are buying up the stocks of goods. Most people are not bulk buying with the intent on reselling. >>Consider the battle for concert tickets, which the band might sell for $20 but a scalper would buy and try to resell for $100. That is not what is happening right now, and personally i have no issues with scalpers but I am also anti-social and never attend events for which a scalper would be able profit from. The solution to scalping is not price gouging laws, but non-transferable tickets, or individually named tickets. Many events are already doing that because the practice of scalping hurts attendance and the fan base. No government intervention is needed to resolve that issue >but it’s fine for a society to determine it’s better for everyone This will be our deviation point in philosophy, I am an individualist, holding the individual rights are in fact more important thank what society determines to be "better"

by syshum 7y ago

mattlutze 7y ago

Actually I took the gas price bit from specific experience and saw enough examples in a quiet Midwest area growing up to expect my experiences weren’t unique. The other issue is people, like in the article, just buying up a bunch of stuff so that other people literally can only buy from the opportunist. Consider the battle for concert tickets, which the band might sell for $20 but a scalper would buy and try to resell for $100. Yes it’s technically possible, but it’s fine for a society to determine it’s better for everyone if you’re not allowed to take advantage of people’s needs or vulnerabilities like that (when it comes to health supplies, for example).

syshum 7y ago
>>The other issue is people, like in the article, just buying up a bunch of stuff so that other people literally can only buy from the opportunist. While I am sure there are opportunists as you call them, that is not the primary reason people are buying up the stocks of goods. Most people are not bulk buying with the intent on reselling. >>Consider the battle for concert tickets, which the band might sell for $20 but a scalper would buy and try to resell for $100. That is not what is happening right now, and personally i have no issues with scalpers but I am also anti-social and never attend events for which a scalper would be able profit from. The solution to scalping is not price gouging laws, but non-transferable tickets, or individually named tickets. Many events are already doing that because the practice of scalping hurts attendance and the fan base. No government intervention is needed to resolve that issue >but it’s fine for a society to determine it’s better for everyone This will be our deviation point in philosophy, I am an individualist, holding the individual rights are in fact more important thank what society determines to be "better"