sapphi_snake said:
There are other ways to avoid the people dying situation, of course they require time, and socialism-type situations, both of which are a big no no for soem people I guess. Ironically, the research paper you quoted said that the reason products run out very quiclkly is because people buy lots due to the fear of prices increasing. In the end it's all a sort of self-fulfilling prophecy. The part in italics is a typical compromise that only takes into consideration the short term. It's not about keeping you possessions intact, it's about not losing EVERYTHING. You may lose your house to the tornado, but must you lose your money to greedy speculators too? This isn't some grand Hollywood narrative where the victims are heroically save, then End Credits. Life goes on, and it's one thing to lose most of your possesstions to a natural disaster, but to loose what little you have left afterwards to immoral sharlatans? I'm sure that can be avoided. |
Except... there aren't. We've already been over this. You JUST agreed to that. The numbers bear out that price is the quickest and most efficent way to make the most out of supply and demand. If government took over the local companies (what i guess your talking about?) It's still price controls and quantity limits. Just with even more government inefficency since they need to coordinate and take orders from Washington. It still doesn't adress supply, heck I don't even think i mentioned the various added costs of transporting supplies to a disaster area. (There are a lot. Hazard pay, having to avoid ruined roads, possibly differnent trucks, higher risks of products neer reaching their destination.)
Any socialist type situations... which we do use.... take LOTS of time to put into effect. This isn't an arguement about FEMA or any of that stuff. The fact that stuff exists is even MORE proof for why Price controls are wrong.
FEMA+ "Price gouging" = the best solution. Once FEMA (or whatever your disaster agency is) hits the ground, prices will go down but still remain high... and then people have the choice between wasting their time, or their money... while before they do hit the scene the product that is there is best utilized and those there is tons of incentive to increase supply there, including people who normally wouldn't deal in such supplies.
Yeah, the way to avoid that is.... dieing... well that or robbing people. You say your sure it can be avoided, yet don't have an idea of how it can be avoided... a logical person would concede they were wrong until they did have an idea of how it could be avoided and would want to go with the way that saves more lives until such a system could be found.
It would be like being against seperating conjoined twins to make sure one lives when the chances are both will die, because at some point in the future we're sure there will be a better way to save both twins.
All that kind of thinking gives you is a lot of dead twins.
