In 2005, Dr. Karen Palasek wrote a Free Market Minute column about how "price gouging, a term that has no economic meaning, is actually helpful in averting a gas crisis."
I'm reminded of what happened to carpenters, tree-removal firms, generator retailers, and others in North Carolina after Hurricane Fran, as then–Attorney General Mike Easley took to the airwaves repeatedly warning about price gouging.
I bought a new gas can and used it. The EPA "fixed" the spout to make it "spill-proof" and more environmentally friendly. That is why the things spill more than ever and are prone to explode.
If you were looking for a quick summary of public-choice economics, you could just consult Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross' comments on Pres. Trump's tariffs.
The anti–price gouging law is a government price ceiling that tends to create shortages in necessities by keeping their prices during a disaster "fair." The governor, by relaxing certain regulations, is able to lower the regulatory costs of providing those necessities, which helps offset the bad effects of the anti–price gouging law.
Not long ago I wrote about how tariffs are like minimum-wage laws: they're both policies based in bad economics, well outside the mainstream of economic thought. They're also (and for the same reason) especially bad for the poor.
