"Those who prey on people during a tragedy represent a particularly loathsome
sort of subhuman. Consumed with profit, price gougers charge unconscionable
prices during a calamity and make a bad situation worse...Genuine price gouging
is rare in a civilized society, but when it does occur, Virginia must not ignore
it, no matter where it originates."
What the paper is calling for is an expansion of Virginia's "price gouging" authority that would allow them to go after wholesalers in other states. Genius. Now they want to export shortages and market distortions outside of their borders.
The Roanoke Times uses the typical language of economic simpletons as they assign insulting terms like "subhuman" to those who are in fact, doing the right thing by imposing discipline on the marketplace.
If supplies of any commodity are disrupted, then that means there's not enough to supply everyone with what they want. There has to be rationing by the market in order to make sure people get what they need unless you want government hacks to impose it by force. Increased prices do just that.
When prices rise during an emergency, people are more prudent in how much they consume and buy just what they need rather than hoard products in anticipation of the inevitable shortages price gouging laws produce.
If gas is allowed to rise from say, $4.00 a gallon to $8.00 in an emergency, then rather than top off the tanks of two cars, consumers will fill just one. And they wont feel the need to hoard since the higher price reduces demand and the supply available increases.
Additionally, suppliers now have an incentive to bring more gas to the marketplace despite the hardships and increased costs of the emergency. If the price they're allowed to charge is kept artificially low then it's more beneficial to them to just store the gas and sell it after the emergency subsides.
If I owned a gas station and a hurricane was coming, why would I want to bother sticking around to sell gas at current prices when I could just shut down and take care of my own property and family? Or should I just sacrifice my own well-being and property to a government induced frenzy of irrational behavior?
This is simply about the Laws of Supply and Demand that all too many like to believe doesn't or shouldn't exist when it causes pain or inconvenience. Or they think the Laws should only apply to things people don't need. That's like saying the Laws of Gravity shouldn't apply when people fall out of windows.
In both cases it reflects irresponsible and immature thinking. And now we have fools in Virginia who want to impose their idiocy on the rest of us.
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