5 ms·

Price gouging during an emergency is illegal in NJ and Christie plans on going on the warpath after this is over.

starnixgod 14y ago
A price increase of more than 10% during or 30 days after a declaration of a state of emergency in NJ is prohibited. http://tinyurl.com/a7j2vgo http://tinyurl.com/a7j2vgo
endtime 14y ago
>Christie plans on going on the warpath Can you elaborate? Does he want to remove the anti-"gouging" laws?
- codewright 14y ago
  >Can you elaborate? Does he want to remove the anti-"gouging" laws? Quite the opposite, he's a somewhat populist moderate Republican. He plans to prosecute people guilty of increasing their prices more than 10% during the crisis to full extent of the law.
  - gwright 14y ago
    This is perhaps good politics, but it is stupid economics. Restricting price changes during a crisis (or any time really) is a fantastic way to create shortages, delay the arrival of needed or substitute resources, encourage hording, and so on.
    - pyre 14y ago
      Do you really think that raising (e.g.) gas prices by a large margin will somehow redirect resources to getting more gas into those areas? * The gas stations without electricity aren't to get electricity any fast because the price of gas is higher. * Gasoline shipments aren't going to come any faster. * New gas stations aren't going to pop up as entrepreneurs move into the area to capitalize on increased demand for gas. A disaster isn't necessarily a 'market force.' No one is going to get supplies into a disaster zone faster because they are trying to turn a quick buck. Especially since it isn't like they can setup shop and expect the increased prices to persist.
      - jlgreco 14y ago
        Raising prices will reduce the amount of gas people are willing to put into their cars when they finally do pull up to a working pump. If more people only fill up partially, then more people will be able to make due for a time.
      - fr0sty 14y ago
        > The gas stations without electricity aren't to get electricity any fast because the price of gas is higher. If you can sell gas for $10/gal then it becomes worthwhile to get a generator and start pumping gas. If you can't sell gas at a premium you won't bother. You could say the same for anyone with a truck that has a bulk tank. If they could go house to house selling gasoline at a premium you can bet good money people would be trucking in thousands of gallons of fuel for generators. But that's price gouging so everyone goes without...
- pyre 14y ago
  I assume it means that anyone caught price gouging during this emergency can't count on the law to look the other way. There will probably be a ton of political pressure and publicity ('bad publicity' from the perspective of a business caught gouging) in an effort to make an example of those retailers that attempt to take advantage.
- dfc 14y ago
  The war will be for enforcement and fining: http://nj.gov/governor/news/news/552012/approved/20121027c.html http://nj.gov/governor/news/news/552012/approved/20121027c.h...

A price increase of more than 10% during or 30 days after a declaration of a state of emergency in NJ is prohibited. http://tinyurl.com/a7j2vgo http://tinyurl.com/a7j2vgo

endtime 14y ago

>Christie plans on going on the warpath Can you elaborate? Does he want to remove the anti-"gouging" laws?

codewright 14y ago
>Can you elaborate? Does he want to remove the anti-"gouging" laws? Quite the opposite, he's a somewhat populist moderate Republican. He plans to prosecute people guilty of increasing their prices more than 10% during the crisis to full extent of the law.
- gwright 14y ago
  This is perhaps good politics, but it is stupid economics. Restricting price changes during a crisis (or any time really) is a fantastic way to create shortages, delay the arrival of needed or substitute resources, encourage hording, and so on.
  - pyre 14y ago
    Do you really think that raising (e.g.) gas prices by a large margin will somehow redirect resources to getting more gas into those areas? * The gas stations without electricity aren't to get electricity any fast because the price of gas is higher. * Gasoline shipments aren't going to come any faster. * New gas stations aren't going to pop up as entrepreneurs move into the area to capitalize on increased demand for gas. A disaster isn't necessarily a 'market force.' No one is going to get supplies into a disaster zone faster because they are trying to turn a quick buck. Especially since it isn't like they can setup shop and expect the increased prices to persist.
    - jlgreco 14y ago
      Raising prices will reduce the amount of gas people are willing to put into their cars when they finally do pull up to a working pump. If more people only fill up partially, then more people will be able to make due for a time.
    - fr0sty 14y ago
      > The gas stations without electricity aren't to get electricity any fast because the price of gas is higher. If you can sell gas for $10/gal then it becomes worthwhile to get a generator and start pumping gas. If you can't sell gas at a premium you won't bother. You could say the same for anyone with a truck that has a bulk tank. If they could go house to house selling gasoline at a premium you can bet good money people would be trucking in thousands of gallons of fuel for generators. But that's price gouging so everyone goes without...
pyre 14y ago
I assume it means that anyone caught price gouging during this emergency can't count on the law to look the other way. There will probably be a ton of political pressure and publicity ('bad publicity' from the perspective of a business caught gouging) in an effort to make an example of those retailers that attempt to take advantage.
dfc 14y ago
The war will be for enforcement and fining: http://nj.gov/governor/news/news/552012/approved/20121027c.html http://nj.gov/governor/news/news/552012/approved/20121027c.h...