Originally Posted by
Koyote
Did you actually read that page? It perfectly illustrates my point -- that there is no definition of 'price gouging.' That's why all of those states have different definitions, and why many of them use squishy, subjective words like "exorbitant," "unconscionable," and "excessive." Words that are the opposite of “clear and specific.”
PS: I also noticed that you did not address a single thing I wrote about price controls and price gouging laws. I’m interested to read your thoughts on the efficacy of such policies.
So I actually went through the entire page, and I'm struck by the near unanimity among the states that have sucjh laws that this is an emergency measure (a couple of states don't mention "disaster" or "emergency"). If we want to treat this as Econ 101 stuff, it's an attempt to cope with localized transient market failures induced by disruption in transportation and/or manufacture.
You're wildly overstating the case that the term "gouging" doesn't have a meaning. We can agree that the tire price increases aren't that, but I think your assertion that allowing people to charge $20 per gallon for drinking water is a good solution to a temporary shortage is Chicago school taken to an absurd degree. . We do actually have governments for a reason.