[Info-vax] What is VMS?

["Roßert G. Schaffrath"]

On 12/28/2011 8:22 PM, AEF wrote:
> On Dec 28, 8:18 pm, VAXman-  @SendSpamHere.ORG wrote:
 >
> So what do you think when a sudden emergency causes a certain item to
> suddenly be very valuable, like ice, shovels, generators, or whatever.
> should price gouging be allowed then? I'm just asking. I can see it
> both ways.
>
> AGAIN: Just asking.
>
> AEF

Unfortunately people have demonstrated that unless there is a premium on 
emergency supplies in an emergency area, the first ones at the supply 
depot will take all they can get away with.  If gasoline sells for 
$6/gallon in an emergency area, will you buy just what you need or all 
that you want?  High prices, sadly, work as a deterrent to keep people 
from taking more than they should when supplies are tight.

Likewise when it comes to supplies like generators in an disaster area, 
you have an issue with availability.  John Stossel pointed out an 
interesting situation that happened after Katrina.  Generators were 
needed in Louisiana.  However, due to strict price controls, a warehouse 
full of them in either Tennessee or Kentucky (cannot remember which) 
kept them because there was no reason to go through the effort to pack 
them up and ship them south.  They would still be able to be sold where 
they were already located for the same price.  Had they been allowed to 
charge a premium, the area needing generators would probably have had 
more than they needed as there would have been an incentive for 
suppliers in other parts of the country to go through the time and 
expense of packing them up and trucking them down south.

(I have had a generator since 2005)