Price Gouging Rears Its Lovely Head

Letter 1

Dear Walter:

I just heard of hand sanitizer that pre-Corona would have cost $3, now selling for $30.  I assume the libertarians think it’s okay and not “price gouging.” Correct?

Marty

Letter 2

From: Michael Edelstein

Subject: Re: price gouging

Price gouging is good.

As an anti-price gouger, do you favor price controls on gasoline?

You’ve noticed when the supply is short, prices rise?

Warm regards, Michael

Michael R. Edelstein, Ph.D.

Clinical Psychologist

Co-author of Three Minute Therapy

with David Ramsay Steele, Ph.D.

Features help for anxiety, depression,

relationships, panic attacks, addiction

Letter 3

Dear Marty:

No, it IS price gouging. Price gouging is good. Thank God, so to speak, for price gouging.

Baecker, 2020; Boudreaux, 2019; Carden, 2019; Chernikov, 2017; Culpepper, and Block, 2008; de Molinari, 1871; Jacoby, 2019; Klein, 2020; Mankiw, 2006; Mitchell, 2007; Munger, 2007; Murphy, 2006, 2007; Perry, 2019; Vance, 2019; Wangsness, 2005; Westly, 2005; Western Standard, 2009; Williams, 2012; Woods, 2002; Zwolinski, 2008

Baecker, Christopher E. 2020. “The Noncrime Known as ‘Price Gouging.’” March 26; https://mises.org/wire/noncrime-known-price-gouging?utm_source=Mises+Institute+Subscriptions&utm_campaign=18b4dba97a-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_9_21_2018_9_59_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_8b52b2e1c0-18b4dba97a-227976965

Boudreaux, Don. 2019. “I Sat on My Couch and Didn’t Tote Food or Water to Bahamian Victims of Hurricane Dorian.”September 8;

https://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2019/09/i-sat-on-my-couch-and-toted-no-food-or.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed:+economicpolicyjournal/KpwH+(EconomicPolicyJournal.com).

Carden, Art. 2019. “Price Gouging Laws Are Knowledge Embargoes That Should Be Repealed.” August 31;

https://www.forbes.com/sites/artcarden/2019/08/31/price-gouging-laws-are-knowledge-embargoes-that-should-be-repealed/#180e8c5e4847

Chernikov, Dmitry A. 2017. “In Defense of ‘Price Gouging’.” September 8;

https://dmitrychernikov.com/blog/defense-price-gouging/

Culpepper, Dreda and Walter E. Block. 2008. “Price Gouging in the Katrina Aftermath.” International Journal of Social Economics; Vol. 35, No. 7, pp. 512-520; http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/viewContentItem.do;jsessionid=D99C6D908AEA5910439BB07AF99D0F48?contentType=Article&contentId=1729159

De Molinari, Gustav. 1871. “The Feeding of Paris During the Siege.” Revue des deux mondes. Vol. 91. – 1 January, pp. 112-123; http://praxeology.net/GM-FPS.htm

Jacoby, Jeff. 2019. “‘Price gouging’ during natural disasters isn’t a problem — it’s a solution.” September 6; https://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2019/09/06/price-gouging-during-natural-disasters-isn-problem-solution/q53ZPGYhRhTkBwGs7WT1EK/story.html

Klein, Sandra. 2020. “Anti-Gouging Laws Are the Reason There Is a Toilet Paper Shortage.” March 17;

https://mises.org/power-market/anti-gouging-laws-are-reason-there-toilet-paper-shortage?utm_source=Mises+Institute+Subscriptions&utm_campaign=c298756254-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_9_21_2018_9_59_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_8b52b2e1c0-c298756254-227976965

Mankiw, N. Gregory. 2006. “I Paid $2,500 for a ‘Hamilton’ Ticket. I’m Happy About It.” October 21; http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/23/upshot/i-paid-2500-for-a-hamilton-ticket-im-happy-about-it.html?_r=0

Murphy, Robert. 2006. “The Gas-Line Quagmire in Iraq” February 6.

http://www.mises.org/story/2026

Mitchell, Andrew. 2007. “‘Price Gouging’ Is Essential and Humane.” January 30; https://mises.org/library/price-gouging-essential-and-humane

Munger, Michael. 2007. “They Clapped: Can Price-Gouging Laws Prohibit Scarcity?” July 8; http://www.econlib.org/library/Columns/y2007/Mungergouging.html

Murphy, Robert P. 2007. “The Giant Gas-Gouging Gaffe.” May 25

http://www.mises.org/story/2598

Perry, Mark J. 2019. September 4. “Inspired by Hurricane Dorian, I propose the Maximum Temperature Act to stop unconscionable temperature gouging.” http://www.aei.org/publication/inspired-by-hurricane-dorian-i-propose-the-maximum-temperature-act-to-stop-unconscionable-temperature-gouging/

Vance, Laurence. 2019. “In Defense of Price Gouging.” September 10;

https://www.lewrockwell.com/2019/09/laurence-m-vance/in-defense-of-price-gouging-2/

Wangsness, Lisa. 2005. “House bill targets Fenway parking fees;

Would hike fines for price-gouging.” Boston Globe, June 16

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2005/06/16/house_bill_targets_fenway_parking_fees/

Westley, Christopher. 2005. “The Right to Set Your Own Price.” October 21;

https://mises.org/library/right-set-your-own-price

Western Standard. 2009. “Saskatchewan’s anti-scalping legislation an attack on free markets.” November 24;

http://westernstandard.blogs.com/shotgun/2009/11/saskatchewans-anti-scalping-legislation-an-attack-on-free-markets.html

Williams, Walter E. 2012. “Disaster Ignorance.” November 26;

http://archive.lewrockwell.com/williams-w/w-williams145.html

Woods, Thomas. 2002. “The Non-Crime of Price Gouging.” October 1;

https://mises.org/library/non-crime-price-gouging

Zwolinski, Matt. 2008. “The Ethics of Price Gouging.” Business Ethics Quarterly, Vol. 18, No. 3, pp. 347-378, July

For more on this topic: https://mises.org/search-mises?search=price%20gouging

Best regards,

Walter

Share

3:03 am on June 26, 2020