The good folks at @severestudios tweet:
RT @NCAGO: NC price gouging law now in effect. If you spot gouging, report it at www.ncdoj.gov. #NCIrene
Long-time readers know I am no fan of price gouging laws because prices of many items and services are naturally going to spike when natural disaters hit. The demands for things like bottled water, construction services, hotel rooms etc. necessarily increase dramatically when, at the same time, the local supplies of these goods get restricted. The simultaneous increase in demand and decrease in supply necessarily leads to higher prices as buyers try to get what they want and sellers try to allocate what they have.
Price gouging laws act a bit like price ceilings by limiting the ability of buyers and sellers to trade above some "high" level. But what's high? What's "charging too much"? What's unfair? Who's to determine what's high and what's unfair? How are scarce resources supposed to get allocated to get people what they want?
If anything, these laws make it more difficult for people to get bottled water, construction services, hotel rooms, etc. in a timely manner. If someone offers to sell someone else a bottle of water for $15, let the buyer decide whether that's fair or unfair.
If someone offers to clear a tree off a house for $20,000, perhaps that person already has a lot of work to do, meaning the opportunity cost of taking on additional work is very high for him. Why shouldn't he be allowed to charge a high price?
While the anti price gouging laws may sound like a good idea, in reality they do little but hamper relief efforts.