When two people voluntarily agree to exchange, there’s no such thing as “price gouging.” It’s just simply the “price.” However, what tends to happen (especially during emergencies) is that buyers are not happy with the emergency “price,” so they call for government to threaten (or use) force against the seller. Buyers want government to ensure them the non-emergency price, which of course, leads to shortages. Ironically, the greatest “price gouger” in society is the government itself.
The Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity is a project of Dr. Paul’s Foundation for Rational Economics and Education (F.R.E.E.), founded in the 1970s as an educational organization. The Institute continues and expands Dr. Paul’s lifetime of public advocacy for a peaceful foreign policy and the protection of civil liberties at home. Visit http://www.ronpaulinstitute.org