First of all, that's not a thing. Prices are what the market dictates. Price gouging is only possible with government controls.

Second, why do you want to hurt people already suffering a catastrophe by making it even harder for them to obtain what they need?

Isn't "price gouging" simply demanding as much as the market will allow?

And your second paragraph doesn't seem to be very libertarian. Market capitalism isn't a humanitarian pursuit. Why would I charge less than the market value just because you're suffering?

Price controls hurt relief efforts much more than price gouging does. The libertarian approach here is also the most humanitarian.

That's also a very traditional Conservative Republican philosophy. I'm not disagreeing with you, but it is the kind of thing that gets you labelled as "mean spirited" by Hillary voters.

Even most liberals will acknowledge this is true, they just wish it weren't.

I guess you could label it as conservative, but it isn't. It's just plainly true. Even most liberals will acknowledge this is true, they just wish it weren't.

I'd say the only thing that really needs limits is gas. Make the rule that you can only charge a dollar over what the maximum price you charged for gasoline in the past two years. A scenario where all gas in Florida costs $45 a gallon today would make things much worse.

But if their cost is 40/gallon you can't cap what they charge or they just won't provide any.

I get your point. That said, you cannot justify the shop selling cases for water for $45 earlier in the week when the stock they had was bought for $2. Gas, forget that I will never understand gas pricing.

That little weasel who charges a billion dollars for AIDS medication should be taken to a firing squad.

But if their cost is 40/gallon you can't cap what they charge or they just won't provide any.

That little weasel who charges a billion dollars for AIDS medication should be taken to a firing squad.

More for the Wu Tang album thing than anything else.

That prick was the one that bought it?

FF's statement is true. Some of these people live in a world that doesn't exist. I'd love it too if we could artificially suppress prices in times like these, but it's simply impossible without repercussions. Sometimes they think just because something seems humane that it MUST be possible.

I have no problem with the government paying for these things at market value and giving them to those in need, but they can't simply tell suppliers what they can and cannot charge.

The argument becomes a bit different when talking about patent laws and things like that. That little weasel who charges a billion dollars for AIDS medication should be taken to a firing squad.

RPB, get a CFMB fund going to buy that shit back. Word on the street is it's on eBay now. I'm in for $1.50

Why draw the line for medication? Their research and development is the reason the drug exists. Why shouldn't they be able to set the market?

That normally is true. In the case of the weasel or other old medicine/patent raiders not true.

Why penalize them because the government didn't make the investment?

FF's statement is true. Some of these people live in a world that doesn't exist. I'd love it too if we could artificially suppress prices in times like these, but it's simply impossible without repercussions. Sometimes they think just because something seems humane that it MUST be possible.

I have no problem with the government paying for these things at market value and giving them to those in need, but they can't simply tell suppliers what they can and cannot charge.

The argument becomes a bit different when talking about patent laws and things like that. That little weasel who charges a billion dollars for AIDS medication should be taken to a firing squad.

There's a larger discussion here about what kind of society we really want to have. The reason market capitalism works is because man is greedy by nature. And that's the same reason communism has never worked and ultimately always has led down a path to dictatorship and murder. Of course, market capitalists love to point that out while ignoring the atrocities wrought by their own system, the most obvious being slavery.

The problem with centrist Democrats is that things are too good for them to really want change. Can we base a society on generosity rather than greed? It's going to be very difficult when accumulation is one of our primary values. I would suggest the first step toward a better way would be to outlaw advertising.