...on "price gouging" (otherwise known as the law of supply and demand) in the wake of Hurricane Charley. The Mises Institute preemptively responded to this, but it never slows down the economic ignoramuses at the New York Times:

Janet Snyder, a pharmacy technician in Cape Coral, said several men in two pickup trucks spotted her roof damage and offered to lay down a temporary covering of plastic sheeting. They wanted $600, about four times what she figured was the right price, based on 15 rolls of plastic that usually sell for $10 each.

OK, so Janet is clearly no business major, but how dumb is the reporter to pass this on without comment? She seems to think that the men's labor should be free, and that she should only have to pay for materials. In the real world, even with no hurricane, she wouldn't get free labor. She certainly can't expect it when there is so much to be done.

"Dog Bites Man"

"Sellers raise prices during Shortage"

The only interesting thing about the article was the attitude of the author and the people quoted.

I could understand lawsuits against a seller if there was a clear medical or safety issue - "I won't sell that blood pressure medicine unless you pay me 20 times the usual price" - but I didn't see any of that in the article.

I liked:

Mr. Lawrence, a cook who is studying to become a Web site designer, came across a gas station here in Orlando selling the equivalent of two $1 bags for $10.

"I said, 'Are you kidding?' and he just looked at me," Mr. Lawrence said. "There were mobs of people buying ice from the guy. Even though that was the only place I could find ice, I refused to buy it."

Sounds like a lot of people were willing to pay the prevailing cost, but Mr. Lawrence chose not to do so. He didn't say he couldn't afford it or that it was vital to his well being. So what's the problem?

Charging 5 times the usual price for an item that you bought at regular wholesale prices and will re-supply at regular wholesale prices isn't supply and demand, it is taking advantage of people. But, I guess if we can justify it with "prevailing prices" and "supply and demand" excusses, what the heck.

I see your point. Given the obvious supply shortages, wholesalers should be raising their prices substantially. That way, there would an incentive for them to increase production and shipment by more expensive methods, supply would increase, and retailers wouldn't be making such large profits.

I'll pay 4x the wholesale price of shingles to anyone willing to re-roof my house.

(The estimate I just got was 6.7x the price of the retail shingle price.)

Capatilism works both ways. If you feel a store is charging an excessive price for a good you don't have to shop there ever again and you can encourage others to vote likewise with their wallet.