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Started By
Message
re: $99 for a case of water: Texas officials report price gouging post-Harvey
Posted on 9/1/17 at 9:34 am to Upperdecker
Posted on 9/1/17 at 9:34 am to Upperdecker
quote:
Lot of idiots downvoting this thread who either don't understand free market economics principles. Or they poor
Far from poor.
City of Houston needs to have available goods to provide to the massive displaced public.
If someone in DFW wants to charge 5 bucks a gallon, thats on the consumer to decide if they want to buy or not.
Houston should be treated entirely separate in the current state it is in.
Sometimes doing the right fricking thing for your brothers/sisters supersedes the almighty dollar.
6
Posted on 9/1/17 at 9:35 am to magildachunks
quote:
And price gouging allows more people a chance to get that food and gas than allowing one a-hole to buy it all up
Then more people will rush to the area to sell because it's obvious that money can be made. Look at it as forced altruism. You are providing something that is desperately needed because you need the money from the sales.
Posted on 9/1/17 at 9:37 am to Pecker
quote:In a disaster area, is this not as onerous as looting? Both are ill-gotten gains.
If they want to charge $20/gallon then don't pay for it if it's not worth that to you. Who are you to tell them how much to charge for a good or service they provide?
Posted on 9/1/17 at 9:38 am to 50_Tiger
Just because it makes you an a-hole, doesn't make you wrong either.
Posted on 9/1/17 at 9:38 am to GFunk
quote:
You cannot control the access-much less the equality-of distribution in supply and in a disaster situation you also cannot control the money supply to ensure everyone has access to legal tender/means to pay since payment systems are so geared towards debit/credit cards in this day and age.
Please don't create a straw man. I am not saying we should necessarily give away money to everyone. But you cannot simply ignore those who have money but can't access it during a disaster situation when providing assets or controlling markets in a disaster response/recovery situation.
The, "theory," of allowing the free market to dictate cost of goods sold doesn't account for a market that is under multiple stressors and pressure points, and the free market also doesn't show human compassion and the imperative to preserve human life, which in an emergency situation usurps ideological preferences to interfere-or in this case to not interfere-in a market.
Personally speaking I am a fan of little-to-no market intervention when those markets are behaving rationally. But in a Disaster situation the variables are out of control from multiple angles and the reactions and behaviors on all sides being so irrational can create chaos and erode civil order.
All you free-market types aren't taking into account the mass of variables in the discussion IMO
Thats a lot of words used to say "I have no idea what I'm talking about".
Posted on 9/1/17 at 9:39 am to HubbaBubba
quote:
Both are ill-gotten gains.
How is selling goods obtained legally ill-gotten gains?
Posted on 9/1/17 at 9:39 am to BowDownToLSU
quote:
Texas officials say they've gotten hundreds of complaints about price gouging and scams in the wake of Hurricane Harvey.
One convenience store in Houston reportedly charged $20 for a gallon of gas, $8.50 for a bottle of water and $99 for a case of water, according to the Texas Attorney General's office.
Shut em down
ETA: however, if the Convenience Store lobbied the way Big Pharma lobbies, they could also charge $10.00 for an item it cost them $0.01 to bring to market.
This post was edited on 9/1/17 at 9:42 am
Posted on 9/1/17 at 9:40 am to 50_Tiger
quote:
Sometimes doing the right fricking thing for your brothers/sisters supersedes the almighty dollar.
Number one free market principle: people will always do what's best for themselves. Therefore, if you allow price gouging, the suppliers will hear about the available profit, and send more supply. Eventually the price will lower with a reduced demand:supply ratio. Everyone profits, and it will happen faster than hoping people will "help their brothers"
Posted on 9/1/17 at 9:40 am to Upperdecker
quote:
Supply and demand baw. Lots of demand and little supply. That's a free market principle at its best
arse hole.
Price gauging is against the law. The suppliers are not up charging very much. So why should the retailers act like they hit the lottery? After Katrina one retailer was arrested on live TV and should have been. He claimed it was miscommunication.
You are a dick.
Posted on 9/1/17 at 9:40 am to 50_Tiger
quote:
Houston should be treated entirely separate in the current state it is in.
Sometimes doing the right fricking thing for your brothers/sisters supersedes the almighty dollar.
Who are you to tell someone how much they should charge for a good or service they are providing. If you want to make this a discussion on morality (disaster or no disaster), it's amoral for you to force someone to provide a good or service. That's what price controls are. You're telling people that they must provide a good or service at a cost you determine, or they can't sell it at all.
This post was edited on 9/1/17 at 9:43 am
Posted on 9/1/17 at 9:41 am to CaptainsWafer
quote:
Just because it makes you an a-hole, doesn't make you wrong either.
Fair enough but imo Harris County should be shielded from this shite right now.
I paid 3 dollars yesterday for 93. Didn't care or mind it. If it was 5 as some reported. Still would of filled up.
Difference is, I have a home to go to and all of life's necessities.
A lot of people in Harris County do not.
Posted on 9/1/17 at 9:42 am to OLDBEACHCOMBER
quote:
arse hole.
Price gauging is against the law. The suppliers are not up charging very much. So why should the retailers act like they hit the lottery? After Katrina one retailer was arrested on live TV and should have been. He claimed it was miscommunication.
Supplier doesn't have the limited supplies.
And the retailer doesn't have to open anyway. Then nobody gets shite.
Posted on 9/1/17 at 9:42 am to Pecker
quote:
quote:
And price gouging allows more people a chance to get that food and gas than allowing one a-hole to buy it all up
Then more people will rush to the area to sell because it's obvious that money can be made. Look at it as forced altruism. You are providing something that is desperately needed because you need the money from the sales.
It's more that 1 person won't buy out the store in one trip. If a case of water was still only $3, one guy would swoop in and buy all the water for himself. He won't do that at $99 / case
Posted on 9/1/17 at 9:43 am to BowDownToLSU
According to the politards, this is a good thing. Only the people who need water will get it this way.
Posted on 9/1/17 at 9:43 am to Pecker
quote:
Who are you to tell someone how much they should charge for a good or service they are providing. If you want to make this a discussion on morality (disaster or no disaster), it's amoral for you to force someone to provide a good or service. That's what price controls are. You're telling them that that they must provide a good or service at a cost you determine, or they can't sell it at all.
Again we are talking in a disaster situation only. Not every day life.
shite im the last person on this board who would shy away from ANY money making potential, but there is some type of moral duty involved here.
It's what makes us human and not machines.
Posted on 9/1/17 at 9:43 am to Displaced
And you can bet your behind he'll sell everything for a lot more than he paid for it.
Posted on 9/1/17 at 9:43 am to magildachunks
It's all kosher until you are the one having to pay $99 for a case of water. I'm sure you would be thrilled and singing the same tune if your family needed that water.
Posted on 9/1/17 at 9:45 am to 50_Tiger
quote:
Sometimes doing the right fricking thing for your brothers/sisters supersedes the almighty dollar.
Check out the guy in the gas thread.
And the posters saying they'd do the same because themselves and their family are more important than any else in that situation.
Price gouging helps prevent that from happening and instead of hoarding, you tend to buy only what you need thus allowing more people a chance at the limited supplies.
Explain in detail how I'm wrong.
Posted on 9/1/17 at 9:45 am to Displaced
quote:
It's more that 1 person won't buy out the store in one trip. If a case of water was still only $3, one guy would swoop in and buy all the water for himself. He won't do that at $99 / case
Yeah, you're right. There are a multitude of scenarios we could walk through but the underlying issue is not going to change: goods are not available to everyone in the short-term. The solution to this is not to control the price. The solution to this is to allow the market to temporarily inflate the price so that more goods enter the market as a result of higher prices.
Posted on 9/1/17 at 9:46 am to Brazos
quote:
It's all kosher until you are the one having to pay $99 for a case of water. I'm sure you would be thrilled and singing the same tune if your family needed that water.
It would force me to buy only what we needed. And also ration what I bought instead of wasting it.
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