On Price Gouging
260 words.
RedState uses the classic “if you don’t like the gas prices, don’t buy any” argument in discussing whether or not price gouging is good or bad: The Twilight Zone Comes To The Debate Over Gas Prices.
This seems to be a pretty common argument from people who can afford gas at any price, but I find it a bit misleading. In a purely theoretical sense I suppose it’s valid, but realistically my car doesn’t run on anything but gasoline, so shopping elsewhere isn’t all that feasible. (And I suspect buying an electric car isn’t feasible if you can’t afford gas.)
Yeah, yeah, I know there’s public transportation, but that’s not terribly practical in a lot of situations, either. In my case, I’d probably have to ride a train to work everyday to get out of paying for gas, which isn’t very cost-effective (looks like about $10-$15 a day). To cut travel costs I’d have to take a train down here on Monday, stay at a motel through the week, and return on Friday. But then I’d have to pay for a motel for 4 nights, which isn’t very attractive either. And then there’s the slight problem that my cubicle is some 7.5 miles from the train station.
“So get a new job,” they’ll say. Okay, sure. I’ll keep my eyes peeled for a high-tech job within biking distance of my house.
(Just for the record, I don’t think there’s any gouging going on right now, but I was very suspicious when gas prices went up two days before Katrina hit.)
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