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Then the hawks moved in, selling $100 cheap chainsaws for $500+, $300 generators for $2000 - and people were BUYING them because they had no choice. Sure, there were laws against it - but there were too many of them, and not enough law enforcement.
There were laws against this in the Soviet Union; it was called profiteering, a crime punishable by death. I'm sure that there are similar laws in Cuba and North Korea today.
Thankfully, the government doesn't yet set prices and profits in this country although I'm sure that Obama and his supporters would like to do just that as the communist Roosevelt was trying to do. We all recall the squeals of leftists for "excess profits" taxes in the oil industry. The individual who can make big profits in troubled times needs to be regarded as the hero and savior of mankind. That's the individual who makes civilization possible. Benjamin Franklin would be proud of him.
Government is the problem, not the solution. There are too many laws and too many highly paid thugs enforcing them.
There were laws against this in the Soviet Union; it was called profiteering, a crime punishable by death. I'm sure that there are similar laws in Cuba and North Korea today.
Thankfully, the government doesn't yet set prices and profits in this country although I'm sure that Obama and his supporters would like to do just that as the communist Roosevelt was trying to do. We all recall the squeals of leftists for "excess profits" taxes in the oil industry. The individual who can make big profits in troubled times needs to be regarded as the hero and savior of mankind. That's the individual who makes civilization possible. Benjamin Franklin would be proud of him.
Government is the problem, not the solution. There are too many laws and too many highly paid thugs enforcing them.
Should people plan ahead and think before they find themselves in a desperate situation? Of course. Do I believe in selling for a price that the market will bear? Absolutely!
What I do NOT believe in, is taking advantage of people who are in desperate situations. The country store where I helped out NEVER raised our prices when weather threatened; not the hand-pumped, non-electric kerosene source for heating when it was winter and ice cut off the power, and not the candles, kero lamps, wicks, etc when hurricanes threatened. We made our profits the old-fashioned honest way - by providing a steady supply of products at reasonable prices, no matter the situation or exiegency. I don't regard such a person as a hero or a savior - I regard them as a sneakthief, just as liable to kick a cripple down and steal his wallet, or rob a lost costumed kid of his Halloween candy. No, the neighborhood or community shouldn't need police to stop them; they should band together and beat the crap out of him, and then pay him what is fair and reasonable ONLY.
And maybe that is what should be done with the people who play the commodities markets and artificially raise the prices on fuel - and those who never have to take delivery on what they have purposefully outbid others on.
JMHO.
There's no middle ground. Someone either supports the free market and its participants or he wishes the government to be the superior moral force that makes the proper rules of behavior.
There are people who believe in complete freedom and people who don't. You can't have freedom for yourself and slavery for others when it suits the exigencies of the moment. Putting it a different way, what's good for the goose is good for the gander.
Should people plan ahead and think before they find themselves in a desperate situation? Of course. Do I believe in selling for a price that the market will bear? Absolutely!
What I do NOT believe in, is taking advantage of people who are in desperate situations. The country store where I helped out NEVER raised our prices when weather threatened; not the hand-pumped, non-electric kerosene source for heating when it was winter and ice cut off the power, and not the candles, kero lamps, wicks, etc when hurricanes threatened. We made our profits the old-fashioned honest way - by providing a steady supply of products at reasonable prices, no matter the situation or exiegency. I don't regard such a person as a hero or a savior - I regard them as a sneakthief, just as liable to kick a cripple down and steal his wallet, or rob a lost costumed kid of his Halloween candy. No, the neighborhood or community shouldn't need police to stop them; they should band together and beat the crap out of him, and then pay him what is fair and reasonable ONLY.
And maybe that is what should be done with the people who play the commodities markets and artificially raise the prices on fuel - and those who never have to take delivery on what they have purposefully outbid others on.
JMHO.
I;ve seen people bring truckloads of Gennies into Hurracane areas.
WITHOUT higher prices... they wouldn't bring needed/wanted resources.
You don't HAVE to buy them... if you already preped.
There IS a middle ground between anarchy and slavery, and it is called a republic.
You're the one talking about anarchy; you're the one advocating violence against a merchant because you decided he's being unfair. If you don't like someone's price, don't buy from him. That's how civilized people do it. We don't beat people for pricing what they own at the price they wish. That's your idea. That's true anarchy; the rule of the mob is the opposite of a republic.
Whatever you have in the bank - take it out and convert it to small bills. Buy 5-gallon cans and fill them with gas. NOW.
During Hugo, most banks were inaccessible for weeks due to power outages. Most gas pumps did not work due to both power outages and evacuees filling their tanks so that there were hundreds of stations with signs up even BEFORE the hurricane - "Sorry, no gas". There were actually gunfights in some gas station parking lots over the last dribbles of fuel. Convenience stores along the evacuation route ran out of food - including slim jims and baby, dog, and cat food. There were fights in grocery stores over the last loaves of bread and bottles of water.
Remember that if your water supply is tainted by either damage or storm surge, you will need water first of all, and TP next. They are saying that batteries are already sold out in stores in NY and NJ. If you are waiting to fill your tank on Saturday, you may have no where to buy gas. Ambulances and fire trucks cease operations before the storm hits, and if treefall or washouts are bad, may not be able to get to your burning house or Granda struck by treefall afterwards. Most injuries and ambulance calls occur AFTER the storm; people cleaningup and having heart attacks, etc. Oh - the sudden drop in air pressure causes babies near term to be born without warning. This is a fact. So if anyone is pregnant and over 7.5 months in term, they need to have access to a hospital.
Then the hawks moved in, selling $100 cheap chainsaws for $500+, $300 generators for $2000 - and people were BUYING them because they had no choice. Sure, there were laws against it - but there were too many of them, and not enough law enforcement.
If you don't have what you need by now, either to bug out or bug in, you might as well batten down the hatches and prepare to stay where you are with what you already have. But do clean out your bank account (leave the minimum in to hold your account if necessary) and convert it to small bills at least. You're going to need it. And if it turns out to be a little breeze and a little rain, you've lost nothing and can always put it back.
That is ridiculous to clean out your account unless you only have a few thousand dollars in it. I wouldn't tell someone who has 25K or more in a savings account to take it all out.
If the roof blows off their house and they have taken out their life savings which they stored all over the house, they're in trouble.
You take enough out determined by the number of people in your family and what you would need for a couple of weeks.
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LOL
