Whenever a major disaster of any nature affects any portion of the population, the inevitable topic of price gouging comes up. Basic rules of economics do apply. Scarcity creates price increases, and increased demand that exceeds available supply will inevitably result in higher prices. It’s normal. Suppliers put in extra effort to meet demand, and that extra effort costs money. Dr. Walter Williams wrote in 2004 that windfall profits are motivators, that they signal there are unmet human wants, leading people to strive to meet those wants. It stimulates the supply response to a disaster, and yes, that supply costs.

Imagine for a moment that prices aren’t allowed to rise. Would it be reasonable for anyone to expect workmen to give up their nights and weekends and drive hundreds of miles to Virginia to remove trees from people’s houses? Yes, there would be some motivated by charitable instincts, but I’d hate to count on charitable instincts as the major source of help. If, as the Virginia Senate has decreed, prices are not allowed to rise in the wake of a disaster, lest they risk being deemed unconscionable, pray tell me what will produce the incentive for people to travel long distances, work overtime and make other personal sacrifices to provide goods and services to Virginians?

There was a photo on my social media feed this morning, showing a guy offering to come rescue people in Houston with his little boat for $200 per person and $100 per pet. While windfall profits are motivators for this guy to opportunistically offer to skin people who may have lost everything in a natural disaster of their last remaining assets, he’s well within his right to do this. Some people are jerks. You can’t get around that fact. Some people wouldn’t lift a finger to help their fellow human beings without there being some strong financial motivation to do so. They’re exploitative cockroaches, who show us the worst humanity has to offer. But not everyone can be a charitable giver, and this guy – as much as I’d like to smash his face in with a chair – has every right to be a purulent turd.

In a similar vein, a story popped up in my feed this morning describing a veterinarian’s experiences with customers who demand free service – for the good of the pet. Should veterinarians provide affordable health care for people’s pets?