Price Gouging

Price gouging

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Jhoscarlos suriel

Professor Gallagher: introduction to philosophy

MWF 8:30

Price gouging

Price gouging has been a subject of controversy, the reason of this is because occurs when sellers raise the price sharply of a certainly necessary goods beyond the level needed to cover increased costs, in a wake of natural disaster. There’s people who is against this law because for them is unfair to raise the price of a necessary good when people really needed it. however, there’s people who is in favor of this law because they hold the idea that price of gouging is not about fair or unfair, it’s about the market supply and demand. Why there are people who is in favor of this law and why there are people who is against the price gouging? Is it true that price gouging can be meant as an advantage for suppliers in an emergency event? Why business raise the price in this situation and not in normal situations?

Most people think that price gouging its unfair, because they believe that people has being forced to buy goods with higher price when they really need the product. For example, if you have to pay 20 dollars for a bottle of water, you are going to buy that water for that price because everyone needs water to survive and no matter how expensive the water is people are going to pay for it. But, this people are truly being forced for buy this product? No, you choose to buy the water or not buy it, even if your life is in danger you have the option to buy the product or not buying it and suffer the consequences. In the other hand, people who is in favor of the price gouging think that it’s about the market and when there is a shortage of the product forces the price of any goods or services to goes up.

When a natural disaster occurs there is an increase in the demand of a good and a decrease in the supply of this goods, because people are going to demand more of these products and suppliers do not have the possibility to produce that quantity. That’s why companies are forced to raise the price to be able to produce more and to be able to pay the demand that is to produce these products. Also, companies will be able to have higher wages, so this higher wages open the opportunity to have more people working longer hours and some of them will donate their extra time in order to repair the damage faster. But what happen if the law prevents the payment of these higher wages? Those extra potential hours will be lost and will take more time to repair the damage.

In conclusion, when we talk about price gouging everyone it’s going to have a different “point of view”, people who is against this law thinks that price gouging increase the hardship of people who