Last week President Bush said that he would not stand for price gouging in areas devestated by Hurricane Katrina. Why not? The price system is the cruch of free market capitalism, which I thought he endorced.

Maybe this an exception to Bush's commitment to the free market. Like those steel tariffs. Or those restrictions on Canadian Soft Lumber Imports. Or expanding Medicare. Or signing various farm and business subsidies into law. Or Or Or...

9/13/2005 3:13:06 PM

oh, he's against price gouging in Miss, La, and maybe Alabama... but i guarentee you that price gouging in other states to make up for it won't be a problem for Bush

9/13/2005 3:32:18 PM

well, i mean, the man did suggest that instead of losing proifts to keep gas prices low, the oil companies just donate the money to charity

SO DRIVE ON AMERICA
YOU'RE DONATING TO THE CAUSE!

9/13/2005 3:56:21 PM

if you can't spell devastated, endorsed, crux, well then.... you're a bad speller.

9/13/2005 3:59:34 PM

bad sepllers untie!

9/13/2005 10:16:13 PM

hasn't preventing price gouging always been a part of a free market? or did my econ professor lie to me

9/13/2005 10:21:22 PM

i think he meant to type "crutch" not "crux"

9/13/2005 10:21:44 PM

we have a free market economy?

9/13/2005 11:13:50 PM

too soon do people forget that we live in a democracy

capitalism is a paradigm for wealth creation and accumulation

but we live in a democracy

9/14/2005 12:48:20 AM

DID YOU JUST FUCKING SAY WE LIVE IN A DEMOCRACY?

JESUS CHRIST

9/14/2005 9:06:37 AM

^^ We live in a form of democracy, but TWW is not going to let you get away with that over-simplification.

We live in a Regulated-Capitalist-Constitutional-Federal-Democracy.

9/14/2005 9:49:44 AM

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the REPUBLIC YOU FUCKING MORONS for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

9/14/2005 10:15:53 AM

9/14/2005 10:27:15 AM

thanks Excoriator,

how's this: Regulated-Capitalist-Constitutional-Federal-Democratic Republic

9/14/2005 12:37:13 PM

see, republican bias even in the pledge

what bullshit

9/14/2005 1:53:35 PM

Stupid Democrats, democracy is for kids.

9/14/2005 3:02:38 PM

Quote :

"Regulated-Capitalist-Constitutional-Federal-Democratic Republic"

k better

9/14/2005 10:22:21 PM

Quote :

"hasn't preventing price gouging always been a part of a free market? or did my econ professor lie to me"

-JonHGuth

That depends on what you mean by price gouging.

If you take "price gouging" to mean businesses raising prices in responce to rising input costs or demand conditions (exactly what happened in the American gasoline market, for example), then I will garuntee that your professor never said it was something we should prevent.

Maybe you should pay attn in class more often.

9/15/2005 10:07:21 AM

The only way I can see real price gouging occuring is if there is illegal collusion among gas stations or suppliers. Obviously if one or two gas stations in town are at $4 a gallon the consumer can just go somewhere else. Recall that most gas stations make a few pennies at most per gallon.

9/15/2005 6:16:21 PM