DC Braces for megastorm

[Felch]

Actually, even the military has laws against price gouging during shortages.

The military has rules about how your hair should look, and how your boots are laced up. You really want to use them as your standard for an ideal society?

[Imran Siddiqui]

The exact same rationalization used to persecute homosexuals. Congratulations on your hypocrisy.

You ask the qualification as to what qualifies people to run other people's affairs - society deciding limits to liberty that it believes immoral is that qualification. Whether society is morally right as it concerns my moral viewpoint (or God's viewpoint, IMO) is a different question.

[Kidlicious]

So it's better to remove all options entirely? You realize that supply will only meet demand when the price is set by the market, right? Without that, people who need things like gas or food, simply won't be able to find them.

Ah, supply will not meet demand with or without price controls. I'm willing to grant that some people will deliver some gas from other areas, but that's not going to make the price efficient. There will still be a shortage. The question is whether the higher price that everyone pays is a higher cost than the cost to those who would go without because of price controls.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Governments exist to provide a legal framework that protects and upholds rights and liberties. Virtue must come from individuals.

Not everyone agrees on your ideas of government and believes virtue can manifest itself in governmental actions (as was expected for Old Testament Israel).

[regexcellent]

[deleted because it's irrelevant]

[Felch]

You ask the qualification as to what qualifies people to run other people's affairs - society deciding limits to liberty that it believes immoral is that qualification. Whether society is morally right as it concerns my moral viewpoint (or God's viewpoint, IMO) is a different question.

I don't believe immorality is a concern in a free society. I think that laws about selling booze on Sundays and prohibiting homosexuality are contrary to the values of a free society. But I also think that price gouging laws have more to do with populism and a poor understanding of economics than with morality. Unless you can show me that part in the Bible where it says, "Thou shalt not sell goods at a higher price when they are scarce than when they are plentiful."

Ah, supply will not meet demand without price controls. I'm willing to grant that some people will deliver some gas from other areas, but that's not going to make the price efficient. There will still be a shortage. The question is whether the higher price that everyone pays is a higher cost than the cost to those who would go without because of price controls.

If people really need gasoline, and they're willing to pay double or triple the ordinary price, then obviously they are better off with gasoline than without it.

[Hauldren Collider]

Because we, as a society, have decided to limit that liberty because we believe it is immoral in certain instances.

Don't be an idiot. Your concept of morality is that you don't like having to pay more for **** that is worth more. That's not a ****ing moral concept, that's called being a *****.

[Felch]

Not everyone agrees on your ideas of government and believes virtue can manifest itself in governmental actions (as was expected for Old Testament Israel).

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

You're right, not everybody share my radical notions of the government existing to protect people's rights. But Americans certainly should.

[Imran Siddiqui]

I also think that price gouging laws have more to do with populism and a poor understanding of economics than with morality. Unless you can show me that part in the Bible where it says, "Thou shalt not sell goods at a higher price when they are scarce than when they are plentiful."

I believe we instinctively recoil at the taking advantage of a disaster situation aspect for a reason. Our inner natures believe this is unfair because people are using the disaster to make additional profits. In addition, the poor ("the least of these") are, of course, unable to afford items when the prices get jacked up many times above their normal price. The rich, are the ones who can afford the triple price much much easier.

[Kidlicious]

If people really need gasoline, and they're willing to pay double or triple the ordinary price, then obviously they are better off with gasoline than without it.

I'm not arguing with that.

Consumer surplus is what we, as consumers, get living in a society that has a competitive market place where there are no shortages. If we lived in a society where monopolies owned everything we would get little or no consumer surplus. Consumer surplus is obviously a benefit. So I'm saying that price controls benefit us by giving us what we would get if there were no shortage, consumer surplus. Without price controls there would be some more supply but how much? How many people are going to come with trucks full of gasoline?

[Felch]

By the way, virtue manifesting itself in Old Testament Israel meant executing homosexuals and putting women to death for being raped in a town. I for one am glad I don't live under such barbaric circumstances.

[Hauldren Collider]

Imran believes it's immoral for us to charge more during scarcity, but when asked to give a reason, apparently it's because we aren't old testament israel and it just feels yucky. THERE ARE RULES!

[Hauldren Collider]

I believe we instinctively recoil at the taking advantage of a disaster situation aspect for a reason. Our inner natures believe this is unfair because people are using the disaster to make additional profits.

I agree. Let's ban doctors.

[SlowwHand]

Must be worse than I even thought. My worthless brother, who does nothing but go to Red Cross and take classes as a volunteer, leaves Saturday morning for NYC.
People must be desperate. I expect they'll send him home.

[Hauldren Collider]

I believe we instinctively recoil at the taking advantage of a disaster situation aspect for a reason. Our inner natures believe this is unfair because people are using the disaster to make additional profits. In addition, the poor ("the least of these") are, of course, unable to afford items when the prices get jacked up many times above their normal price. The rich, are the ones who can afford the triple price much much easier.

I believe we instinctively recoil at gay anal sex for a reason. Our inner nature believes this is sinful and that gay people will incur the wrath of god.

We should decide what's right and wrong based on gut instinct and not evidence. Evidence will lead us down the path to the dark side.