End Price Gouging

[darrelx]

San Diego City Council Enacts Legislation to punish illegal profiteers.

The San Diego City Council unanimously declared an emergency yesterday and passed an ordinance making it illegal for merchants to sell food, building materials and gasoline, among other things, at costs more than 10 percent above those being charged before the declaration of

Comments

[buddykat]

And what exactly are gas stations supposed to do if they are being charged MORE then they are legally allowed to charge for gas under that ordinance?

I agree with the general *purpose* of the law that was passed, but if they are not going to allow business owners to make back their costs, then they are screwing every business in the city, and the city itself.

In addition, this statement If you see high prices within SD City limits, and they were more than 10% lower before Katrina, CALL THAT NUMBER and report them! is wrong. It's not "before Katrina", it's "before the declaration of an emergency", which according to the article, was declared *yesterday* by the city council. Unless the city council made the disaster retroactive (not mentioned in the article), the law only affects prices that go up after yesterday. Prices have already gone up almost 10% since Katrina hit the Gulf Coast.

[bovil]

If the law doesn't also target wholesalers, the problem you describe is serious.

Who is doing the gouging is the real question, though.

If (for example) a gas station with several days of stock raises its prices based on panic demand, but it's still selling the gas that they paid last week's price for, the station is gouging.

If the wholesaler jacks up its prices, but is still selling the gasoline that they paid last month's prices for, the wholesaler is gouging.

If the "big oil" refinery raises its prices, but hasn't seen an increase in its production costs, the refinery is gouging.

It's a very simplistic solution to a real problem. Darryl, can you come up with a more effective solution that doesn't reek of socialism?

You had a hurricane in San Diego?

[ex_space_wo]

This is really an issue down there? When did that start?

Re: You had a hurricane in San Diego?

[jbriggs]

1996

Re: You had a hurricane in San Diego?

[darrelx]

The new legislation is in addition to a law already on the books about gouging when there's a local disaster. The new law enacted Tuesday prohibits gouging when a disaster in another area adversely effects prices of sustenance items (Food, shelter, or medical) within the City of San Diego. Fuel is considered a component of sustenance items in all 3 categories because it is a) required to transport food, b) heat shelters, and c) power medical equipment.