Price gouging during Hurricane Harvey: Up to $99 for a case of water, Texas AG says - Sensationalist Headlines

[QUOTE=duno;52626702]No one is being charged $100 to live and neither is anyone getting denied water because this system is working. You are going to get $99 a case for water at a gas station because everyone bought it out and the supply is not there. Would you rather have no water to buy at all or have the option to buy $99 water? If the gas station is selling at $99, the situation is apparently so dire that consumers are willing to pay a price like that, or else they would just hit up a walmart. These high prices naturally develop and everyone is better off. We don't need breadlines in a hurricane.[/QUOTE] What are you even arguing

[QUOTE=duno;52626702]No one is being charged $100 to live and neither is anyone getting denied water because this system is working. You are going to get $99 a case for water at a gas station because everyone bought it out and the supply is not there. Would you rather have no water to buy at all or have the option to buy $99 water? If the gas station is selling at $99, the situation is apparently so dire that consumers are willing to pay a price like that, or else they would just hit up a walmart. These high prices naturally develop and everyone is better off. We don't need breadlines in a hurricane.[/QUOTE] Way to backpedal. You literally stated this. [quote]If you can't afford it you don't need it. If for some reason a $100 case of water is the difference between life and death for me, $100 is cheap.[/quote] You also clearly didn't read anything as bigger places like Walmart or other big corps are not marking up their prices, it's the smaller businesses. Get your head out of the clouds and don't imagine that blocking water from those who can't afford it is an okay thing to do.

[QUOTE=duno;52626702]No one is being charged $100 to live and neither is anyone getting denied water because this system is working. You are going to get $99 a case for water at a gas station because everyone bought it out and the supply is not there. Would you rather have no water to buy at all or have the option to buy $99 water? If the gas station is selling at $99, the situation is apparently so dire that consumers are willing to pay a price like that, or else they would just hit up a walmart. These high prices naturally develop and everyone is better off. We don't need breadlines in a hurricane.[/QUOTE] Every week I read something more and more retarded, it defies explanation How convoluted can you get? "If they're making water unaffordable it's because people are so desperate that they'll do anything to get it" In that horrible situation you described, it's the [i]customer's[/i] fault they're being forced by you to pay astronomical prices? Who even thinks like that? "I'm gonna force these desperate survivors of a natural disaster to have sex with me in order to get clean drinking water. It's their fault that I'm their only option." Do you understand how demonic you sound?

[QUOTE=duno;52626702]No one is being charged $100 to live and neither is anyone getting denied water because this system is working. You are going to get $99 a case for water at a gas station because everyone bought it out and the supply is not there. Would you rather have no water to buy at all or have the option to buy $99 water? If the gas station is selling at $99, the situation is apparently so dire that consumers are willing to pay a price like that, or else they would just hit up a walmart. These high prices naturally develop and everyone is better off. We don't need breadlines in a hurricane.[/QUOTE] This is why people hate capitalists.

What is a business supposed to do? Keep prices the same and immediately get bought out for being the cheapest place in town? That would be immoral and hurt anyone actually looking for water. For all the hate I'm getting and "capitalizm suckzzz", capitalism is in action right now (and evidenced by the news article and gas prices) and it's making sure resources aren't wasted to hoarders.The current death toll is 14 and that's amazing considering the scale of the this hurricane.

[QUOTE=duno;52626702]No one is being charged $100 to live and neither is anyone getting denied water because this system is working. You are going to get $99 a case for water at a gas station because everyone bought it out and the supply is not there. Would you rather have no water to buy at all or have the option to buy $99 water? If the gas station is selling at $99, the situation is apparently so dire that consumers are willing to pay a price like that, or else they would just hit up a walmart. These high prices naturally develop and everyone is better off. We don't need breadlines in a hurricane.[/QUOTE] Seek professional help, you are clearly a sociopath.

[QUOTE=duno;52626763]What is a business supposed to do? Keep prices the same and immediately get bought out for being the cheapest place in town? That would be immoral and hurt anyone actually looking for water.[/QUOTE] Considering this is a disaster scenario the standard rules should never apply. Trying to ensure minimal losses to the people (fuck your bottom line, that'll be fucked from the disaster anyway) and a fast recovery should be priority. If that means not hiking prices up to serve "those who [I]really[/I] need it" then so be it. Some of the poorest would be the worst effected by such a measure whilst the richest would hardly feel the impact of it.

[QUOTE=duno;52626763]What is a business supposed to do? Keep prices the same and immediately get bought out for being the cheapest place in town? That would be immoral and hurt anyone actually looking for water. For all the hate I'm getting and "capitalizm suckzzz", capitalism is in action right now (and evidenced by the news article and gas prices) and it's making sure resources aren't wasted to hoarders.The current death toll is 14 and that's amazing considering the scale of the this hurricane.[/QUOTE] You have no clue what you're talking about. This illegal and immoral action is in the minimum. Most people are helping and giving away things for free. Anything else is a disgrace. Pure capitalism is not moral. Pure capitalism isn't even conservative. It's amoral and will sell you a slave or a child if you'll pay for it. Enough of this bullshit.

[QUOTE=duno;52626763]What is a business supposed to do? Keep prices the same and immediately get bought out for being the cheapest place in town? That would be immoral and hurt anyone actually looking for water. For all the hate I'm getting and "capitalizm suckzzz", capitalism is in action right now (and evidenced by the news article and gas prices) and it's making sure resources aren't wasted to hoarders.The current death toll is 14 and that's amazing considering the scale of the this hurricane.[/QUOTE] I love how far up your own arse your head is. You claim that by charging an arm and a leg it keeps it from being out of reach by people who need it. Do you know how little sense that makes? The only reason that the death count is lower and resources are being utilized is because bigger corporations are not partaking in this, and actually trying to get people what they need.

[QUOTE=hexpunK;52626778]Considering this is a disaster scenario the standard rules should never apply. Trying to ensure minimal losses to the people (fuck your bottom line, that'll be fucked from the disaster anyway) and a fast recovery should be priority. If that means not hiking prices up to serve "those who [I]really[/I] need it" then so be it. Some of the poorest would be the worst effected by such a measure whilst the richest would hardly feel the impact of it.[/QUOTE] But you see that's just the greatness of the system. All the poors drown and are no longer a burden on the welfare system.

[QUOTE=duno;52626763]What is a business supposed to do? Keep prices the same and immediately get bought out for being the cheapest place in town? That would be immoral and hurt anyone actually looking for water. For all the hate I'm getting and "capitalizm suckzzz", capitalism is in action right now (and evidenced by the news article and gas prices) and it's making sure resources aren't wasted to hoarders.The current death toll is 14 and that's amazing considering the scale of the this hurricane.[/QUOTE] Maybe they could ration their goods? It's a similar concept to what you suggested, except cunts don't get to make a massive profit.

[QUOTE=duno;52626763]What is a business supposed to do? Keep prices the same and immediately get bought out for being the cheapest place in town? That would be immoral and hurt anyone actually looking for water. For all the hate I'm getting and "capitalizm suckzzz", capitalism is in action right now (and evidenced by the news article and gas prices) and it's making sure resources aren't wasted to hoarders.The current death toll is 14 and that's amazing considering the scale of the this hurricane.[/QUOTE] Dood, you have no concept of humanity, human decency, or how these things work at all. Charging for the basic necessities of life during a disaster is immoral to begin with. Price gouging is not done to ration supplies, its done to make money off of people in need. If they wanted to ration supplies, then they could do just that; 1 case of water per person per day. The death toll is at 14 because thats all the bodies they've found so far. When the water subsides and they can start searching houses, they will find more. [editline]29th August 2017[/editline] [QUOTE=OvB;52626794]But you see that's just the greatness of the system. All the poors drown and are no longer a burden on the welfare system.[/QUOTE] Exactly, retailers can finally kill off their most fickle clientele

So instead of raising the price of basic necessities, the correct way to deal with a hurricane is a marxist revolution in the U.S. where water, food and other things necessary for survival are furnished by the workers without das kapital? [highlight](User was banned for this post ("Shitposting" - Pascall))[/highlight]

[QUOTE=duno;52626854]So instead of raising the price of basic necessities, the correct way to deal with a hurricane is a marxist revolution in the U.S. where water, food and other things necessary for survival are furnished by the workers without das kapital?[/QUOTE] Way to be melodramatic. I really can't believe this.

[QUOTE=duno;52626702]We don't need breadlines in a hurricane.[/QUOTE] "Let them eat cake", right there. Oh good.

The problem here is not capitalism because laws and regulations only work if people agree to respect them. What happened here is a demonstration of that -- laws are in place to prohibit this stuff, but people went ahead and did it anyway. As long as 1 in 25 people on this planet are sociopaths, you're going to see shit like this no matter what economic model you live under.

[QUOTE=duno;52626763]What is a business supposed to do? Keep prices the same and immediately get bought out for being the cheapest place in town? That would be immoral and hurt anyone actually looking for water. For all the hate I'm getting and "capitalizm suckzzz", capitalism is in action right now (and evidenced by the news article and gas prices) and it's making sure resources aren't wasted to hoarders.The current death toll is 14 and that's amazing considering the scale of the this hurricane.[/QUOTE] they are being wasted to hoarders though, because of people price gouging basic supplies. thats hoarding, in a sense, and scalping, scummy stuff that only really exists because people have to make money off of literally everything.

Rationing things out or limiting supplies would be the better choice rather than charging out the ass for them. Like saying one or two packs of water per family at the normal price would at least ensure everyone could get water rather than telling the poor to go fuck themselves.

[QUOTE=OvB;52624541]Labatt is owned by Anheuser-Busch. That's the same can that they use in the US too. They do this whenever there is a disaster. [editline]28th August 2017[/editline] Of course, some may joke that it's not much different than their beers.[/QUOTE] they used unlabeled cans after katrina.

[QUOTE=duno;52626854]So instead of raising the price of basic necessities, the correct way to deal with a hurricane is a marxist revolution in the U.S. where water, food and other things necessary for survival are furnished by the workers without das kapital? [highlight](User was banned for this post ("Shitposting" - Pascall))[/highlight][/QUOTE] If you can't understand why a hurricane is not business as usual, then I dont know ehat to tell you.

[QUOTE=Sasupoika;52625336]Someone blames it on capitalism, and like clockwork, people rush to defend it.[/QUOTE] Someone rushes to attack capitalism, others rush to defend it. I don't see the problem. Though defending capitalism is one thing but duno's posts are a bit... insane.

On a positive note to add to all the donations... People from North Texas are taking their own personal boats and heading down to help with rescue efforts. Many stores and local emergency service such as the fire dept. are collecting water and goods then transporting them down along with more boats to join in the rescues. We have people who own land that isn't effected by the flooding and offering their land FREE OF CHARGE to help save cattle and live stock. There is a person who opened all her land to save horses and is even offering to feed them. If the owners want to stay with their horses, cattle, or livestock they said they can camp out on her land. Driving to work I saw more national guard trucks with pallets of water heading down. Fuck, even Mexico is offering to help Texas. They no good reason to help Texas or the U.S at this point due to the stuff that has been going on but even they're extending offers to help. God Bless Texas

[QUOTE=OvB;52626734]This is why people hate capitalists.[/QUOTE] Indeed, this is why people hate capitalists. Because what he's spouting is pure, raw, unregulated capitalism: the iron law of supply and demand, with absolutely no external forces at play. Raw capitalism calls for exactly what he's talking about: in times of crisis, raise the price of essentials. The more desperate for a commodity (and in raw capitalism, [b]everything[/b] is a commodity) people are, the more they are willing to pay for it. The fact that Person A, despite literally dying of dehydration, is unable to afford the water is irrelevant - all that matters is that Person B, also literally dying of dehydration, [b]can[/b] afford it. [QUOTE=Leo Leonardo;52626796]Maybe they could ration their goods? It's a similar concept to what you suggested, except cunts don't get to make a massive profit.[/QUOTE] What he's discussing is the inherent equilibrium that raw capitalism elicits. A natural rationing that supply and demand generates. As the price of commodities goes up, less of that commodity is sold per capita. When that commodity is a finite resource, then that is a natural rationing - everyone gets less. It's just not an [b]equal[/b] distribution - only those who can afford it get any at all. I don't think it can be disputed that 100 bottles of water being given out for free, at a strict ration of 1 per person, will be depleted faster in a disaster zone than those same 100 bottles being sold for $100 a bottle. What he's espousing is absolutely deplorable and despicable. But to any of you people who are railing against what he's discussing while at the same time saying "capitalism isn't the problem", I hope you understand the hypocrisy you're exercising. Raw, unregulated capitalism [b]is[/b] the problem - a problem you all are recognizing, and a problem that he is highlighting by actively supporting it. [b]Thankfully[/b], we don't live in a system of raw, unregulated capitalism. And such terrible practices are not just frowned upon, but have legal repercussions. But if we did live in a system of raw, unregulated capitalism, then what he espoused is exactly what would happen. Because that is what raw, unregulated capitalism not just glorifies, but downright expects: sell commodities for no less than the absolute maximum people are willing to pay. Consequently, the rightful disgust expressed in this thread, in the face of this, is exactly why we regulate capitalism: because unregulated capitalism is disgusting.

[QUOTE=Smug Bastard;52626894]The problem here is not capitalism because laws and regulations only work if people agree to respect them. What happened here is a demonstration of that -- laws are in place to prohibit this stuff, but people went ahead and did it anyway. As long as 1 in 25 people on this planet are sociopaths, you're going to see shit like this no matter what economic model you live under.[/QUOTE] I think the argument is more that the way our society and economy are structured explicitly encourage this sort of behavior. There may be a law against it, and people may have ignored that law, but do you actually believe that all these people will actually face punishment? And even if they did, would it necessarily have happened as often if money wasn't such an object of worship? And those that don't leave with a lot more money in their pockets and a lot of people were just exploited for their personal gain. Regardless, it's predatory and disgusting. I am dumbfounded we have people heartless enough to defend this behavior at all, politics aside.

There's only one word I have for it, and that's inhumane. Human beings don't let others die for a quick buck. If any place I shopped at did price gouging during a disaster, I would never shop there again. I'm not giving business to people who don't value human life

[QUOTE=CakeMaster7;52632257]I think the argument is more that the way our society and economy are structured explicitly encourage this sort of behavior. There may be a law against it, and people may have ignored that law, but do you actually believe that all these people will actually face punishment? And even if they did, would it necessarily have happened as often if money wasn't such an object of worship? And those that don't leave with a lot more money in their pockets and a lot of people were just exploited for their personal gain. Regardless, it's predatory and disgusting. I am dumbfounded we have people heartless enough to defend this behavior at all, politics aside.[/QUOTE] [QUOTE=Cyke Lon bee;52625607]As its been previously stated multiple times, it doesn't matter what economic model people live under. Theres no way to enforce a law to prevent people from being shitty during a disaster. You can only do exactly what we're doing right now, which is to punish abusers once the disaster is over. If currency didnt exist in a society, then people would ask for material items like jewellery in exchange for goods. If a society has nothing with material value or currency, then they would trade for immaterial things. Theres no way to stop people from being fuck buckets unless we start an equalibrium type dystopia.[/QUOTE] Yes those people will be punished. Theres tons of evidence of the crimes on social media, granted theres honestly not a lot of [i]actual[/i] price gouging going on. The one picture of an Exxon gas station price gouging, isn't gouging. It shows gas being $8.76 a gallon, but when that sign suffers a power loss it resets itself to 10-9-8-7-6, in this case $8.76 and 9/10ths of a cent per gallon. The one from Home Depot or some other retailer of a case of water being like $46 is because Home Depot/whoever doesn't sell cases of water, so they have to price a whole case as 24 individual bottles of water that you would buy out of a cooler by the register, which is way more expensive than the actual cost of a case. Most of the price gouging going in is people not asking questions to understand the situation, so instead they're just getting angry and taking pictures to shame a business on social media.

[QUOTE=MR-X;52627450]On a positive note to add to all the donations... People from North Texas are taking their own personal boats and heading down to help with rescue efforts. Many stores and local emergency service such as the fire dept. are collecting water and goods then transporting them down along with more boats to join in the rescues. We have people who own land that isn't effected by the flooding and offering their land FREE OF CHARGE to help save cattle and live stock. There is a person who opened all her land to save horses and is even offering to feed them. If the owners want to stay with their horses, cattle, or livestock they said they can camp out on her land. Driving to work I saw more national guard trucks with pallets of water heading down. Fuck, even Mexico is offering to help Texas. They no good reason to help Texas or the U.S at this point due to the stuff that has been going on but even they're extending offers to help. God Bless Texas[/QUOTE] Not just people from north Texas. People from Louisiana, the "Cajun Navy" left as soon as they could to go help out. That's what we do. THAT is a shining example of great humanity. [QUOTE=Cyke Lon bee;52633484]Yes those people will be punished. Theres tons of evidence of the crimes on social media, granted theres honestly not a lot of [i]actual[/i] price gouging going on. The one picture of an Exxon gas station price gouging, isn't gouging. It shows gas being $8.76 a gallon, but when that sign suffers a power loss it resets itself to 10-9-8-7-6, in this case $8.76 and 9/10ths of a cent per gallon. The one from Home Depot or some other retailer of a case of water being like $46 is because Home Depot/whoever doesn't sell cases of water, so they have to price a whole case as 24 individual bottles of water that you would buy out of a cooler by the register, which is way more expensive than the actual cost of a case. Most of the price gouging going in is people not asking questions to understand the situation, so instead they're just getting angry and taking pictures to shame a business on social media.[/QUOTE] That was at a Best Buy that had the case for the price of the singles in it added up. It was an employee mistake and their corporate looked into it to fix it. They will probably have a pricing option in their system for an entire case from now on.