It is said that a Twinkie can last forty-years without going
bad. Keep in mind that gasoline has a
shelf-life of thirty-days. But, this is
not the crux of this story.
A quick peek on e-Bay and craigslist will find countless
Hostess items for sale – and at a serious premium.
Hostess is the bankrupt company that made overly sweet
sugary snacks such as Twinkies, Ho Ho’s, plus Wonder Bread.
Today, a box of Ho Ho’s are selling for $250, as are
Twinkies. These figures represent a
mark-up of over ten times the original price.
Although this may seem to be entrepreneurial, it is what some
people call ‘price gouging.’
Price gouging are two words often heard during times of
disasters such as earthquakes and hurricanes when plywood and other building
materials are the topic of scarcity.
Gasoline, batteries, and bottled water are also subject to scrutiny when
the law of ‘supply and demand’ is invoked.
During the Hurricane Sandy debacle a few weeks ago, out-of-staters
schlepping generators and other much-needed supplies to the New York and New
Jersey areas were summarily arrested for price gouging by charging a
‘fair-market’ price for these desired products.
Upon examination, people who bought houses at bargain prices
and later sold them for killer profits were not penalized with incarceration
for making “obscene profits,” a term usually associated with oil companies.
Speculative drilling is very expensive and sometimes reaps
very little in the way of returns on investments leaving profit margins thin.
The same thing occurs when much-desired concerts roll into
town or those sports playoff tickets – including the Super bowl – are in short
supply and desired. Exorbitant ticket
prices, often in the thousands of dollars, are paid because that is what we
want and the price is still affordable.
Let’s examine the fact that we pay more for drinking water
than we do for gasoline. Talk about
crime. But, taken one step further, we
pay big bucks for ice – a concoction made by freezing water that comes from the
average kitchen faucet – and can’t find indignation.
Perhaps that is why there is no outrage at the Twinkie
gougers.
It seems the free market drives prices based on supply and
demand ideas, and that is a good thing.
News feeds of victims carping about the high price of
you-fill-in-the-blank dot television broadcasts of disasters, even though those
folks had the opportunity to stock up in advance. Rather, they bought $4 cups of coffee and $35
bottles of wine in lieu of some D-batteries and a case of bottled water.
Maybe the next time we face serious woes of apocalyptic
proportions, we’ll be better prepared by not buying stupid stuff like
overpriced Twinkies and Ho Ho’s, and purchase sensible things to keep us safe
and secure. Just don’t whine about your
choice.
