Writes Wayne Dunn on the economics and morality of Price Gouging:
It’s the criminalization of price hikes — not the hikes themselves — that’s immoral. The moral premise behind price-gouging laws is summed up in the altruistic injunction, “People before profits” — as if merchants aren’t people. What this “ethical” position really boils down to, then, is that the needs and desires of some people (consumers) trump the needs and desires of other people (businessmen) and that in a pinch government should sacrifice the latter to the former.
[…] The high prices oblige consumers to economize. Artificially low prices, by contrast, invite hoarding and frivolous buying, emptying shelves sooner. For instance, someone able or willing to purchase only 10 jugs of water at a “gouged” price might’ve bought 30 if the price were “normal,” leaving less for others customers.