Search Results for: price gouging

Gas Price Gouging on Rise*

Michael Giberson Gasoline stations are violating price regulations at a higher rate than any other industry under government price guidelines, an Internal Revenue Service survey shows. About 20% of service stations checked were selling gasoline above the legal ceiling price, the agency said. Federal energy chief William Simon told The Milwaukee Journal’s Washington Bureau Thursday …

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Price Gouging Op-ed Appears in the Washington Times

Michael Giberson This morning’s Washington Times carries my op-ed on price gouging. You should run out and buy a copy at your local newsstand, call the editor with loads of praise, encourage him to solicit my views more frequently, etc. Alternatively, read the op-ed at the Times website and offer comments here, there, or both …

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Do Anti-price Gouging Laws Help the Victims of Natural Disaster?

Michael Giberson At the LegalMatch Law Blog, Sonya Ziaja editorializes in favor of laws against price gouging: Natural forces are blind to what they destroy. People aren’t. In the past month, tornadoes and flooding in the South and Midwest left behind crippled lives, destroyed homes, and eviscerated infrastructure. Now as the victims of the tornadoes …

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Gasoline Price Gouging Complaints Spur Kentucky, Maryland Attorneys General into Action

Michael Giberson Image: MDOHKYgasprices_APR20_gasbuddy hosted on Flickr. Chart created at GasBuddy.com. Kentucky: Attorney General Jack Conway filed a motion last week seeking a temporary injunction to force Marathon Petroleum Co. to return its gasoline prices to April 26 levels, the date the state’s Governor declared a state of emergency due to flooding. From WLKY.com: Attorney General …

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A Once-stable Price Now Responding to Demand Changes Brings Price Gouging Charge

Michael Giberson A letter to the editor of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel: The Interstate 95 express lane authority is price gouging! The express lane toll increases dramatically relative to traffic congestion, roadway emergencies and increased demand by motorists. A merchant who increases his prices during a weather emergency and times of increased demand can in …

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“The Problem with Price Gouging Laws”

Michael Giberson The Spring 2011 issue of Regulation magazine carries my article, “The Problem with Price Gouging Laws.” One bit: Economists and policy analysts opposed to price gouging laws have relied on the simple logic of price controls: if you cap price increases during an emergency, you discourage conservation of needed goods at exactly the time they are in …

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Price Gouging News Roundup (march 2011)

Michael Giberson ABC News last week tackled the question, “Are Gas Stations Price Gouging?” (2:23 min. video) Surprisingly, I liked this story, though (and probably because) they mostly sidestep their question about price gouging and instead go in pursuit of “the highest priced gasoline in America.” They find it at a convenience store just outside …

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