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	<metrics _ngcontent-c15="" class="fs-text-xs" _nghost-c26=""><time _ngcontent-c26="">Aug 28, 2017 @ 05:15 PM</time>
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<!----><h1 _ngcontent-c15="" class="fs-headline speakable-headline">Hurricane Harvey: Price Gouging Shows How Economy Works</h1>

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    <p class=&quot;wp-caption-text&quot;>An Austin-Area grocer shelves are empty during the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. (SUZANNE CORDEIRO/AFP/Getty Images)</p> 
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<p>The usual — and wrong — way to think about prices is that they determine how much money the buyer has to give up, and how much money the seller gains. Although that’s true, it’s not really the function of prices.</p> 
<p>Prices tell all of us how scarce the resource is. High prices tell us: This item is really scarce, so conserve it. Low prices tell us: This item is abundant, so use it liberally.</p> 
<p>Jeffrey Dorfman wrote a <a href=&quot;https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffreydorfman/2016/09/23/price-gouging-laws-are-good-politics-but-bad-economics/#4f95aded64d3&quot; target=&quot;_self&quot;>pretty good article</a>&amp;nbsp;for Forbes last fall, but he portrayed the issue as consumer versus business. That’s not entirely true.</p> 
<p>In a disaster, we want consumers to conserve the scarce resources. Say that bottled water is needed but not widely available. Joe Consumer walks into a store looking for one case and sees two cases left, selling for the usual price. He might buy both just to be safe. So when Jill Citizen walks in, none are left. Keeping prices low sends the wrong signals to consumers. It helps one consumer with low need at the expense of another.</p> 
<p> 
 </p> 
<p>Two hundred miles away, Fred Sharp hears about the bottled water shortage and thinks about loading up his pickup truck at a warehouse store to make a profit selling water in the disaster area. That’s the signal we want entrepreneurs to get: Deliver water. But his efforts wouldn’t be profitable if he were at risk from an anti-price-gouging law.</p> 
<p>The point here is that prices are a signal to both buyers and sellers. Prices convey information. Keeping the information flowing is vital to keeping important goods and services flowing.</p>"><div id="attachment_839823182" class="wp-caption alignnone"> 
 <div class="article-body-image"> 
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  <div class="caption-container" ng-class="caption_state"> 
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    <p class="wp-caption-text">An Austin-Area grocer shelves are empty during the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. (SUZANNE CORDEIRO/AFP/Getty Images)</p> 
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<p class="speakable-paragraph">The usual — and wrong — way to think about prices is that they determine how much money the buyer has to give up, and how much money the seller gains. Although that’s true, it’s not really the function of prices.</p> 
<p>Prices tell all of us how scarce the resource is. High prices tell us: This item is really scarce, so conserve it. Low prices tell us: This item is abundant, so use it liberally.</p> 
<p>Jeffrey Dorfman wrote a <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffreydorfman/2016/09/23/price-gouging-laws-are-good-politics-but-bad-economics/#4f95aded64d3" target="_self">pretty good article</a>&nbsp;for Forbes last fall, but he portrayed the issue as consumer versus business. That’s not entirely true.</p> 
<p>In a disaster, we want consumers to conserve the scarce resources. Say that bottled water is needed but not widely available. Joe Consumer walks into a store looking for one case and sees two cases left, selling for the usual price. He might buy both just to be safe. So when Jill Citizen walks in, none are left. Keeping prices low sends the wrong signals to consumers. It helps one consumer with low need at the expense of another.</p> 
<p> 
 </p> 
<p>Two hundred miles away, Fred Sharp hears about the bottled water shortage and thinks about loading up his pickup truck at a warehouse store to make a profit selling water in the disaster area. That’s the signal we want entrepreneurs to get: Deliver water. But his efforts wouldn’t be profitable if he were at risk from an anti-price-gouging law.</p> 
<p>The point here is that prices are a signal to both buyers and sellers. Prices convey information. Keeping the information flowing is vital to keeping important goods and services flowing.</p></div>
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(SUZANNE CORDEIRO/AFP/Getty Images)[/caption]\r\n\r\nThe usual &a;mdash; and wrong &a;mdash; way to think about prices is that they determine how much money the buyer has to give up, and how much money the seller gains. Although that&a;rsquo;s true, it&a;rsquo;s not really the function of prices.\r\n\r\nPrices tell all of us how scarce the resource is. High prices tell us: This item is really scarce, so conserve it. Low prices tell us: This item is abundant, so use it liberally.\r\n\r\nJeffrey Dorfman wrote a &l;a href=\&q;https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffreydorfman/2016/09/23/price-gouging-laws-are-good-politics-but-bad-economics/#4f95aded64d3\&q;&g;pretty good article&l;/a&g;&a;nbsp;for Forbes last fall, but he portrayed the issue as consumer versus business. That&a;rsquo;s not entirely true.\r\n\r\nIn a disaster, we want consumers to conserve the scarce resources. Say that bottled water is needed but not widely available. Joe Consumer walks into a store looking for one case and sees two cases left, selling for the usual price. He might buy both just to be safe. So when Jill Citizen walks in, none are left. Keeping prices low sends the wrong signals to consumers. It helps one consumer with low need at the expense of another.\r\n\r\nTwo hundred miles away, Fred Sharp hears about the bottled water shortage and thinks about loading up his pickup truck at a warehouse store to make a profit selling water in the disaster area. That&a;rsquo;s the signal we want entrepreneurs to get: Deliver water. But his efforts wouldn&a;rsquo;t be profitable if he were at risk from an anti-price-gouging law.\r\n\r\nThe point here is that prices are a signal to both buyers and sellers. Prices convey information. Keeping the information flowing is vital to keeping important goods and services flowing.&l;/p&g;&q;,&q;description&q;:&q;The usual — and wrong — way to think is that prices determine how much money the buyer has to give up, and how much money the seller gains. In reality, prices tell all of us how scarce the resource is. High prices tell us: This item is really scarce, so conserve it.&q;,&q;image&q;:&q;https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/839823182/960x0.jpg?fit=scale&q;,&q;type&q;:&q;blog&q;,&q;storyType&q;:&q;post&q;,&q;uri&q;:&q;http://www.forbes.com/sites/billconerly/2017/08/28/hurricane-harvey-price-gouging-shows-how-economy-works/&q;,&q;comments&q;:[],&q;visible&q;:true,&q;authors&q;:[{&q;naturalId&q;:&q;blogAuthorId/blog/author/180184&q;,&q;name&q;:&q;Bill Conerly&q;,&q;avatars&q;:[{&q;size&q;:400,&q;image&q;:&q;https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/dc9c5fd99e9555ee881c4cd00675bd7b?s=400&a;d=mm&a;r=g&q;},{&q;size&q;:136,&q;image&q;:&q;https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/dc9c5fd99e9555ee881c4cd00675bd7b?s=136&a;d=mm&a;r=g&q;},{&q;size&q;:62,&q;image&q;:&q;https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/dc9c5fd99e9555ee881c4cd00675bd7b?s=62&a;d=mm&a;r=g&q;},{&q;size&q;:40,&q;image&q;:&q;https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/dc9c5fd99e9555ee881c4cd00675bd7b?s=40&a;d=mm&a;r=g&q;}],&q;url&q;:&q;http://www.forbes.com/sites/billconerly/&q;,&q;type&q;:&q;Contributor&q;,&q;profileUrl&q;:&q;/sites/billconerly/&q;,&q;twitterName&q;:&q;billconerly&q;,&q;authorType&q;:&q;individual&q;,&q;facebookName&q;:&q;1087811926&q;,&q;email&q;:&q;bill@conerlyconsulting.com&q;,&q;blog&q;:false,&q;timestamp&q;:1515715401273,&q;shortBio&q;:&q;I connect the dots between the economy ... and business!&q;,&q;webSite&q;:&q;http://businomics.typepad.com&q;,&q;topics&q;:[&q;lifestyle&q;,&q;economics&q;,&q;oped&q;,&q;business&q;,&q;strategies-solutions&q;,&q;investing&q;,&q;financing&q;,&q;international&q;,&q;leadership&q;,&q;managing&q;,&q;data-driven&q;,&q;enterprise&q;,&q;autos&q;,&q;bonds&q;,&q;small-business-roundtable&q;,&q;the-economy&q;,&q;management&q;,&q;entrepreneurs&q;,&q;workforce-management&q;,&q;markets&q;,&q;small-business-strategies&q;,&q;commodities-currencies&q;,&q;powering-productivity&q;,&q;gold-commodities&q;,&q;logistics-transportation&q;,&q;going-global&q;,&q;innovation-and-science&q;,&q;stocks&q;,&q;future-of-work&q;,&q;asia-outlook&q;],&q;recentFlag&q;:false,&q;description&q;:&q;I decided to become an economist at age 16, but I also started reading my grandmother’s used copies of Forbes. After getting a Ph.D. from Duke and working for three years as a professor, I found my calling in the business world. I began as a corporate economist (PG&a;amp;E, Nerco, First Interstate Bank) before entering consulting, helping business leaders connect the dots between the economy and business decisions. I wrote The Flexible Stance: Thriving in a Boom/Bust Economy. I also wrote Businomics: From the Headlines to Your Bottom Line—How to Profit in Any Economic Cycle to help corporate executives and small business owners understand how the economy impacts their companies. I’m the longest-tenured member of the Oregon Governor’s Council of Economic Advisors, chairman of the board of Cascade Policy Institute and senior fellow at the National Center for Policy Analysis. My friends and fans love their monthly fix of economic charts, a 60-second scan of the economy. The latest edition is always up at www.conerlyconsulting.com/charts.php.&q;,&q;recentActivityCount&q;:0,&q;latestActivityDate&q;:1447250400000,&q;dailyActivityCount&q;:0,&q;primaryBlogNaturalId&q;:&q;blogAuthorId/blog/author/blog-1891&q;,&q;shortUri&q;:&q;http://onforb.es/SVfOkU&q;,&q;displayChannel&q;:&q;business&q;,&q;displaySection&q;:&q;business&q;,&q;contributorSince&q;:1323138261000,&q;slug&q;:&q;billconerly&q;,&q;showNoVestPocket&q;:false,&q;embargo&q;:false,&q;primaryChannelId&q;:&q;channel_1&q;,&q;enableContribContact&q;:true,&q;sigfile&q;:&q;&l;em&g;Learn about my &l;a href=\&q;http://www.conerlyconsulting.com/\&q; target=\&q;_blank\&q; rel=\&q;noopener noreferrer\&q;&g;economics and business consulting&l;/a&g;. To get my free monthly newsletter, &l;a href=\&q;http://conerlyconsulting.com/writing/newsletter/\&q;&g;view a sample&l;/a&g;, then hit \&q;subscribe.\&q; I&s;m a &l;a href=\&q;http://conerlyconsulting.com/speaking/\&q;&g;great speaker on the economic outlook&l;/a&g;, futurist, strategist.&l;/em&g;&q;,&q;enableTwitterFeed&q;:false,&q;disableCanonical&q;:false,&q;disableDigest&q;:false,&q;forbesTwitterProfile&q;:{&q;screenName&q;:&q;BillConerly&q;,&q;name&q;:&q;Bill Conerly&q;,&q;profileImageUrl&q;:&q;http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1247217966/Conerly_2010_3-2.JPG&q;,&q;description&q;:&q;The economist who connects the dots between economics ... and business.&q;,&q;createdDate&q;:1254334871000,&q;location&q;:&q;Portland, OR&q;,&q;url&q;:&q;http://t.co/A1lAxQKShI&q;,&q;expandedUrl&q;:&q;http://www.ConerlyConsulting.com&q;,&q;displayUrl&q;:&q;ConerlyConsulting.com&q;,&q;verified&q;:false},&q;inactive&q;:true,&q;primaryChannel&q;:{&q;id&q;:&q;channel_1&q;,&q;channelId&q;:&q;channel_1&q;,&q;channelName&q;:&q;Business&q;,&q;url&q;:&q;/business&q;,&q;shortName&q;:&q;Business&q;},&q;division&q;:&q;FC&q;,&q;allowEmail&q;:false,&q;avatar_map&q;:{}},{&q;naturalId&q;:&q;blogAuthorId/blog/author/blog-1891&q;,&q;avatars&q;:[{&q;size&q;:0,&q;image&q;:&q;&q;},{&q;size&q;:0,&q;image&q;:&q;&q;},{&q;size&q;:0,&q;image&q;:&q;&q;},{&q;size&q;:0,&q;image&q;:&q;&q;}],&q;url&q;:&q;http://www.forbes.com/sites/billconerly/&q;,&q;profileUrl&q;:&q;https://blogs.forbes.com/billconerly/profile/&q;,&q;authorType&q;:&q;individual&q;,&q;blog&q;:true,&q;timestamp&q;:1519050550324,&q;topics&q;:[&q;lifestyle&q;,&q;economics&q;,&q;oped&q;,&q;business&q;,&q;strategies-solutions&q;,&q;media--entertainment&q;,&q;tech&q;,&q;real-estate&q;,&q;personal-finance&q;,&q;investing&q;,&q;mobile&q;,&q;entrepreneurs&q;,&q;financing&q;,&q;management&q;,&q;international&q;,&q;wall-street&q;,&q;energy&q;,&q;markets&q;,&q;stocks&q;,&q;managing&q;,&q;bonds&q;,&q;leadership&q;,&q;exit-strategy&q;,&q;logistics-transportation&q;,&q;law&q;,&q;world-affairs&q;,&q;policy&q;,&q;olympics&q;,&q;commodities-currencies&q;,&q;sales-and-marketing&q;,&q;data-driven&q;,&q;technology&q;,&q;culture-and-books&q;,&q;steve-jobs&q;,&q;enterprise&q;,&q;worlds-most-powerful-people&q;,&q;doing-well-by-doing-good&q;,&q;politics&q;,&q;regulation&q;,&q;autos&q;,&q;sales-leadership&q;,&q;small-business-roundtable&q;,&q;asia-outlook&q;,&q;the-economy&q;,&q;workplace-management&q;,&q;talent-strategies&q;,&q;pharma-and-health&q;,&q;small-business-strategies&q;,&q;workforce-management&q;,&q;future-of-work&q;,&q;reinventing-america&q;,&q;microbusiness&q;,&q;careers&q;,&q;powering-productivity&q;,&q;gold-commodities&q;,&q;going-global&q;,&q;innovation-and-science&q;,&q;data-driven-business&q;,&q;retail&q;,&q;financial-management-solutions&q;,&q;sportsmoney&q;,&q;under-30&q;],&q;recentActivityCount&q;:1,&q;latestActivityDate&q;:1447250400000,&q;dailyActivityCount&q;:0,&q;primaryBlogNaturalId&q;:&q;blogAuthorId/blog/author/blog-1891&q;,&q;primaryContributor&q;:&q;blogAuthorId/blog/author/180184&q;,&q;primaryContributorData&q;:{&q;naturalId&q;:&q;blogAuthorId/blog/author/180184&q;,&q;name&q;:&q;Bill Conerly&q;,&q;avatars&q;:[{&q;size&q;:136,&q;image&q;:&q;https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/dc9c5fd99e9555ee881c4cd00675bd7b?s=136&a;#038;d=mm&a;#038;r=g&q;},{&q;size&q;:400,&q;image&q;:&q;https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/dc9c5fd99e9555ee881c4cd00675bd7b?s=400&a;#038;d=mm&a;#038;r=g&q;},{&q;size&q;:40,&q;image&q;:&q;https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/dc9c5fd99e9555ee881c4cd00675bd7b?s=40&a;#038;d=mm&a;#038;r=g&q;},{&q;size&q;:62,&q;image&q;:&q;https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/dc9c5fd99e9555ee881c4cd00675bd7b?s=62&a;#038;d=mm&a;#038;r=g&q;}],&q;blog&q;:false,&q;shortBio&q;:&q;I connect the dots between the economy ... and business!&q;,&q;description&q;:&q;I decided to become an economist at age 16, but I also started reading my grandmother’s used copies of Forbes. After getting a Ph.D. from Duke and working for three years as a professor, I found my calling in the business world. I began as a corporate economist (PG&a;amp;E, Nerco, First Interstate Bank) before entering consulting, helping business leaders connect the dots between the economy and business decisions. I wrote The Flexible Stance: Thriving in a Boom/Bust Economy. I also wrote Businomics: From the Headlines to Your Bottom Line—How to Profit in Any Economic Cycle to help corporate executives and small business owners understand how the economy impacts their companies. I’m the longest-tenured member of the Oregon Governor’s Council of Economic Advisors, chairman of the board of Cascade Policy Institute and senior fellow at the National Center for Policy Analysis. My friends and fans love their monthly fix of economic charts, a 60-second scan of the economy. The latest edition is always up at www.conerlyconsulting.com/charts.php.&q;,&q;allowEmail&q;:false},&q;shortUri&q;:&q;http://onforb.es/SVfOkU&q;,&q;displayChannel&q;:&q;business&q;,&q;displaySection&q;:&q;business&q;,&q;contributorSince&q;:1323120472000,&q;slug&q;:&q;billconerly&q;,&q;showNoVestPocket&q;:false,&q;embargo&q;:false,&q;primaryChannelId&q;:&q;channel_1&q;,&q;enableContribContact&q;:false,&q;enableTwitterFeed&q;:false,&q;disableCanonical&q;:false,&q;disableDigest&q;:false,&q;inactive&q;:false,&q;primaryChannel&q;:{&q;id&q;:&q;channel_1&q;,&q;channelId&q;:&q;channel_1&q;,&q;channelName&q;:&q;Business&q;,&q;url&q;:&q;/business&q;,&q;shortName&q;:&q;Business&q;},&q;allowEmail&q;:false,&q;avatar_map&q;:{}}],&q;channelSection&q;:[{&q;channelId&q;:&q;channel_1&q;}],&q;blogType&q;:&q;individual&q;,&q;sitePage&q;:&q;forbes.com/business/blogs/billconerly/index.html&q;,&q;displayChannel&q;:&q;business&q;,&q;vestPocketList&q;:[{&q;type&q;:&q;slide&q;,&q;uri&q;:&q;https://www.forbes.com/pictures/mlj45jggj/1-detroit/&q;,&q;image&q;:&q;http://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/026M72T8ElbzS/&q;,&q;title&q;:&q;The 10 Most Dangerous U.S. Cities&q;,&q;naturalId&q;:&q;blogAndSlideId/blog/slide/986-6336&q;,&q;count&q;:35410,&q;reason&q;:&q;MP-G&q;},{&q;type&q;:&q;blog&q;,&q;uri&q;:&q;https://www.forbes.com/sites/lizryan/2018/02/18/ten-things-your-boss-does-not-need-to-know-about-you/&q;,&q;image&q;:&q;https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/dam/imageserve/169824548/960x0.jpg?fit=scale&q;,&q;title&q;:&q;Ten Things Your Boss Does Not Need To Know About You&q;,&q;naturalId&q;:&q;blogAndPostId/blog/post/2989-32977&q;,&q;count&q;:0,&q;reason&q;:&q;LI&q;}],&q;generatedId&q;:&q;elme45gidd&q;,&q;manualDescription&q;:&q;The usual — and wrong — way to think is that prices determine how much money the buyer has to give up, and how much money the seller gains. In reality, prices tell all of us how scarce the resource is. High prices tell us: This item is really scarce, so conserve it.&q;,&q;primaryChannelId&q;:&q;channel_1&q;,&q;vestPocketPosition&q;:6,&q;siteSlug&q;:&q;billconerly&q;,&q;preview&q;:false,&q;showComments&q;:true,&q;timestamp&q;:1503968988751,&q;commentCount&q;:8,&q;calledOutCommentCount&q;:8,&q;statsEntities&q;:[{&q;id&q;:null,&q;name&q;:&q;Pricing&q;,&q;type&q;:null,&q;relevance&q;:null},{&q;id&q;:null,&q;name&q;:&q;Price gouging&q;,&q;type&q;:null,&q;relevance&q;:null},{&q;id&q;:null,&q;name&q;:&q;Bottled water&q;,&q;type&q;:null,&q;relevance&q;:null},{&q;id&q;:null,&q;name&q;:&q;Price&q;,&q;type&q;:null,&q;relevance&q;:null},{&q;id&q;:null,&q;name&q;:&q;Digital Media Agencies&q;,&q;type&q;:null,&q;relevance&q;:0.2},{&q;id&q;:null,&q;name&q;:&q;anti-price-gouging law&q;,&q;type&q;:&q;IndustryTerm&q;,&q;relevance&q;:0.2},{&q;id&q;:null,&q;name&q;:&q;Austin&q;,&q;type&q;:&q;City&q;,&q;relevance&q;:0.2},{&q;id&q;:null,&q;name&q;:&q;Fred Sharp&q;,&q;type&q;:&q;Person&q;,&q;relevance&q;:0.2},{&q;id&q;:null,&q;name&q;:&q;Jill Citizen&q;,&q;type&q;:&q;Person&q;,&q;relevance&q;:0.2},{&q;id&q;:null,&q;name&q;:&q;Getty Images&q;,&q;type&q;:&q;Company&q;,&q;relevance&q;:0.2},{&q;id&q;:null,&q;name&q;:&q;Jeffrey Dorfman&q;,&q;type&q;:&q;Person&q;,&q;relevance&q;:0.2},{&q;id&q;:null,&q;name&q;:&q;SUZANNE CORDEIRO&q;,&q;type&q;:&q;Person&q;,&q;relevance&q;:0.2}],&q;showNoVestPocket&q;:false,&q;writtenByForbesStaff&q;:false,&q;templateType&q;:&q;standard&q;,&q;enableSigfile&q;:true,&q;primaryChannel&q;:{&q;id&q;:&q;channel_1&q;,&q;channelId&q;:&q;channel_1&q;,&q;channelName&q;:&q;Business&q;,&q;url&q;:&q;/business&q;,&q;shortName&q;:&q;Business&q;},&q;pages&q;:[&q;&l;div id=\&q;attachment_839823182\&q; class=\&q;wp-caption alignnone\&q;&g; \n &l;div class=\&q;article-body-image\&q;&g; \n  &l;img class=\&q;dam-image getty size-large wp-image-839823182\&q; src=\&q;https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/839823182/960x0.jpg?fit=scale\&q; data-height=\&q;738\&q; data-width=\&q;960\&q; /&g; \n &l;/div&g; \n &l;div article-image-caption=\&q;\&q;&g; \n  &l;div class=\&q;caption-container\&q; ng-class=\&q;caption_state\&q;&g; \n   &l;fbs-accordion current=\&q;0\&q;&g; \n    &l;p class=\&q;wp-caption-text\&q;&g;An Austin-Area grocer shelves are empty during the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. (SUZANNE CORDEIRO/AFP/Getty Images)&l;/p&g; \n   &l;/fbs-accordion&g; \n  &l;/div&g; \n &l;/div&g; \n&l;/div&g; \n&l;p&g;The usual — and wrong — way to think about prices is that they determine how much money the buyer has to give up, and how much money the seller gains. Although that’s true, it’s not really the function of prices.&l;/p&g; \n&l;p&g;Prices tell all of us how scarce the resource is. High prices tell us: This item is really scarce, so conserve it. Low prices tell us: This item is abundant, so use it liberally.&l;/p&g; \n&l;p&g;Jeffrey Dorfman wrote a &l;a href=\&q;https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffreydorfman/2016/09/23/price-gouging-laws-are-good-politics-but-bad-economics/#4f95aded64d3\&q; target=\&q;_self\&q;&g;pretty good article&l;/a&g;&a;nbsp;for Forbes last fall, but he portrayed the issue as consumer versus business. That’s not entirely true.&l;/p&g; \n&l;p&g;In a disaster, we want consumers to conserve the scarce resources. Say that bottled water is needed but not widely available. Joe Consumer walks into a store looking for one case and sees two cases left, selling for the usual price. He might buy both just to be safe. So when Jill Citizen walks in, none are left. Keeping prices low sends the wrong signals to consumers. It helps one consumer with low need at the expense of another.&l;/p&g; \n&l;p&g; \n &l;fbs-ad position=\&q;inread\&q; progressive=\&q;\&q;&g;&l;/fbs-ad&g;&l;/p&g; \n&l;p&g;Two hundred miles away, Fred Sharp hears about the bottled water shortage and thinks about loading up his pickup truck at a warehouse store to make a profit selling water in the disaster area. That’s the signal we want entrepreneurs to get: Deliver water. But his efforts wouldn’t be profitable if he were at risk from an anti-price-gouging law.&l;/p&g; \n&l;p&g;The point here is that prices are a signal to both buyers and sellers. Prices convey information. 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