Is there a legitimate ethical debate surrounding price-gouging?

1. BY: ZACH MENESES

2.  Usually involves three factor
1. An unfair price
2. An emergency/disaster
3. Product/service useful to responding to emergencies
 Current example: plane tickets, water, gasoline, etc. in Florida, Texas, and other
areas affected by recent hurricanes
 Tickets jumping from $500 to $3000
 Cases of water costing $100
 34 states have price-gouging laws enacted (including Florida & Texas)

3.  Most people balk at the idea of raising prices during emergencies
 Care for those in need
 Legitimate ethical debate from both sides
 Against price-gouging laws
 Is it wrong to adjust to market forces?
 Unfair burden placed on merchants
 Merchants would rather not sell at than sell for loss
 Actually hurts the people the laws are trying to help?
 For price-gouging laws
 “textbook economics” v. real life
 Nothing the free market can do—supplies won’t even get there in time
 Disasters increase disparities in market—”free” market isn’t free
 Competitve markets cease to exist (small # of buyers/ sellers, high barriers to entry, etc.)

4.  Sandel—Justice: What’s the Right Thing to Do?
 3 main ethical ideas—maximizing welfare, respecting freedom, promoting virtue
 “good society” pulls together?
 Mutual sacrifice for common good—does price gouging encourage or discourage this?
 Dignity of the person
 Putting profits before people?
 Capitalism & free market meant to serve mankind, not other way around
 Damages spirit, soul, morality, etc.

5.  Consequentialism v. Kantianism
 Freedom
 Role of Government & Market
 Role of emotions
 Guide to fighting injustice or fickle distraction

6.  Do you think price-gouging should be outlawed? Why or why not?
 Do price-gouging laws restrict freedom?
 Is price-gouging a result of greed or free market forces?
 Is there a case for price-gouging, or is it just manipulation for profit?
 What forms your opinion? (Utilitarianism, Kantianism, Virtue Ethics, etc.)

7.  https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/11/business/hurricane-price-
gouging.html?mcubz=1
 http://web.archive.org/web/20110331214059/http://www.cato.org/pubs/regulation/re
gv34n1/regv34n1-1.pdf
 https://qz.com/1063188/hurricane-harvey-banning-price-gouging-is-bad-economics/
 http://www.latimes.com/business/hiltzik/la-fi-hiltzik-price-gouging-harvey-
20170828-story.html
 http://www.ncregister.com/blog/jenfitz/what-is-price-gouging-and-why-is-it-wrong