Yesterday, Gov. Perdue declared a state of emergency on the North Carolina coast, which automatically triggered the state’s price-gouging law. Attorney General Cooper said, “We’re warning price gougers that you can’t use a storm as an excuse to make an unfair profit off of consumers.” Anyone who was in Charlotte after Hurricane Hugo hit remembers the stories of people having to pay exploitative hustlers ten bucks for a bottle of water, a hundred dollars for a flashlight, a thousand for a small chain saw, or up to five thousand for a generator.
So a law against price-gouging is a good thing, right? Protecting ordinary people from predators and so forth, it’s all good, right? In normal times you would think so. But these are far from normal times, and free-market fundamentalists are in full roar. They believe any restrictions on business are evil — even apparently, restrictions on “business” practices that ruthlessly take advantage of others’ misery. No, we’re not kidding.
As BlueNC reminds us today, the Ayn Rand-worshipping ideologues at Raleigh’s John Locke Foundation think that banning price-gouging is a terrible restriction on business transactions. Again, no, we’re not kidding, and unfortunately, neither are the Lockers. Their reasoning? “Higher prices encourage conservation just when it’s needed the most,” and “In terms of public welfare and social order, it is important to allow the price system to work freely during times of natural disasters and emergencies.” Great God Almighty, what is wrong with people like that? I’ve heard of, and met, people whose devotion to their ideology was so strong it blinded them to common sense; but, saying that letting scumbags take advantage of people after a natural disaster is just off the charts.
This article appears in Aug 31 – Sep 6, 2010.
I can understand the gut reaction that price gouging must be immoral. It does seem like gougers are taking advantage of people’s desperation for their own profit. But you needn’t think that price gougers are good people to think that price gouging should be legal. Even selfishly motivated behavior can have beneficial effects, and there is good reason to to think that price increases encourage both increased supply and decreased consumption in cases where both are greatly needed (See, for instance: http://philpapers.org/rec/LAMPGI).
As for whether it is the pro-legalized gouging or anti-legalized gouging side that is based on ‘fundamentalism,’ ask yourself this. If you believe gouging should be banned, what evidence can you imagine encountering that would change your mind? Same question for those who think it shouldn’t be banned. If you can’t come up with any answer to that question, then you’re a fundamentalist.
Is this how right wing nutjobs justify exploiting people for money?
They were all about slavery after all.
Do not expect me or any one else to: drive all night in a dangerous hurricane so you can have fresh water. Or, Keep my basement full of fresh water, generators, etc. IF, I have to worry about getting arrested because I ask a high price during a time of need when things are in a short supply.
Thanks for the heads up, Glenn. We’ll all make sure to stay away from assholes like you.