By Selwyn Duke

In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, there has been much talk
about price gouging. New Jersey is prosecuting some who engaged in it, and
pundit Bill O’Reilly has threatened to put offending gas stations in his fearsome
Factor pillory. But is this prudent?

To be clear, I personally wouldn’t want to raise prices amidst
a disaster were I a provider of products or services. And I’m not alone: After
devastating floods struck the Margaretville, NY, area last year and destroyed
the local supermarket and drug store, the only remaining mass supplier of food,
Dollar General, refused to increase its prices (its nobility earns it a plug).
Yet is it beneficial to use government to compel all businesses in
disaster-stricken areas to follow suit?

Obviously, there is no action without motivation. If someone
provides products or services, he does it for some reason, such as profit, a
feeling of gratification, the idea that it’s God’s will, or out of some
conception of what’s right. And that there are so many more businesses than
charities in the world indicates that profit is a far more common motivator
than all the other reasons combined. This is why business owners who would,
left to their own devices, hold the line on prices during disasters are
probably in the minority.

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