(08-15-2024, 09:52 AM)HURRICANE!!! Wrote:

(08-15-2024, 08:49 AM)The Real Marty Wrote: Here is an example of why I cannot commit to Harris.  Today, she is proposing an anti-price-gouging law.  Now, anyone who believes in free markets knows that there is nothing wrong with charging absolutely as much as you can for a product or service.  That's the way the system is supposed to work.   Profits produce jobs, profits bring competition, profits are the life blood of a healthy economy.  We should tax profits, yes, but we should never tell people they cannot charge as much as they can for their product or service.  

If I have a hundred thirsty people in front of me, and I have 25 bottles of water, I should charge as much as I can get for that water, because I will take that money and buy more water, and someone else will see what I am doing and try to do the same thing.  That's the way a healthy economy works.  

I cannot get on board with the idea that the government should decide when a company is charging too much for their product.

So, you are ok with the $69 hotel in Ocala charging $369/night during a hurricane evacuation?

So, I assume you are also ok if all the gas stations along I95 charge $20/gallon for gas during an evacuation.

Can't wait to see the Publix prices this summer when a hurricane is on the way .... perhaps $100 per case will be fitting.

Definitely a good way to weed out the poor people and enable the rich to survive national disasters.

Except that is not what your candidate is proposing at all.  She is going after the reason why groceries are more expensive.  Why is a dozen eggs for example over $6 per dozen?  Is it because Publix is "price gouging" or is it because the cost of producing those eggs has gone up?  Feed is more expensive, fuel to run the machines that produce the feed or deliver the final product to the grocery store has gotten more expensive, etc.

Say for example that the cost to the farmer to raise the chickens, harvest the eggs, package them and ship them to a wholesaler went from $2 per dozen to $3 per dozen, is it "price gouging" for the farmer to sell them to the wholesaler for $4 per dozen?

The wholesaler's cost went up to acquire and store the eggs, sort them and transport them to Publix went up.  Is it "price gouging" for the wholesaler to sell them to Publix for $5 per dozen?

Publix has to store the eggs, pay someone to stock the shelves and sell them.  Is it "price gouging" for them to sell the eggs for $6 per dozen?

She is accusing a corporation like Publix of price gouging when it costs them more money to purchase the product and put it on the shelves.  That is exactly what her proposal is all about.

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