The Christie administration is on the warpath against so-called price gougers. Attorney General Chiesa has filed suit against gas stations and hotels and motels charging them with violating the state’s anti-gouging laws. As the Attorney General stated, “Safe, comfortable lodging is not a luxury when people have been displaced from their homes.” AG Chiesa obviously never took an introductory course in economics.
Archive for November, 2012
The Sabrin Rule to fix the fiscal cliff…let’s really soak the rich
26
Nov
In essays on consecutive days in the New York Times, Steven Rattner and Warren Buffett call for higher taxes on upper income Americans to close the federal budget gap. Rattner calls for raising the top tax rate on capital gains to 28 percent, the same rate during Bill Clinton’s first term. He asserts that “capitalists” would not be adversely affected by the rise in tax rates. He also would eliminate the “carried interest” tax preference (15% rate), the “indefensibly low tax rate” that is paid by some private equity and hedge fund investors. In addition, Rattner would cap deductions on the wealthy taxpayers and increase taxes on dividends as well.
Spontaneous Charity- Lessons from Sandy
25
Nov
Guest column, Dr. Alieta Eck, M.D.
When Hurricane Sandy wreaked havoc on the east coast, one photographed meeting of NJ Governor Christie and President Obama on the New Jersey shore was enough to reassure the average American that Uncle Sam and FEMA would save the day.
But we soon learned that government assistance only goes so far. The average individual grant will come to $3,625 with a maximum of $30,000. Post-disaster government aid is slow and inadequate.
More economic nonsense from a New York Times columnist
23
Nov
One of the worst essays ever to be published in the NYT. Several comments are spot on. Raising taxes is a failed experiment as is the 100 year welfare-warfare state.http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/22/opinion/kristof-a-failed-experiment.html
Who should shore up the Jersey Shore?
23
Nov
The devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy will be felt by Shore residents for years if not decades. Nevertheless, the destruction at Shore communities will cause some residents to relocate and not try to rebuild their homes and businesses. Other residents will rebuild and hope that another “storm of the century” is just that, 100 years away.
The case for separating school and state
23
Nov
Robert Wenzel shows how Paul Krugman makes the case for separating school and state without knowing it.
Governor Christie and price gouging
18
Nov
My letter to the editor published in the Record today,
Regarding “8 businesses sued over price gouging” (Page A-1, Nov. 10):
The devastation caused by superstorm Sandy was in many ways unprecedented. Homes were destroyed, some communities were flooded, power outages blanketed the state and commerce was disrupted, including the distribution of gasoline. And even if gasoline made it to many service stations, there was no power to pump it into cars. In short, demand has exceeded supply for many days.
When demand exceeds supply, prices tend to rise for any good or service. This is the foundation of a market economy. So instead of market forces (higher prices) balancing the available supply with the demand of drivers, Governor Christie and Attorney General Jeffrey Chiesa invoked the state’s anti-gouging laws to prohibit prices increasing more than 10 percent during the emergency. This is the wrong medicine for the temporary disruption of gasoline or any other product or service.
If the price of gasoline had been allowed to rise to balance supply and demand in the state, drivers would have had to conserve the gas they already had in their tanks and purchase only the gas they needed at the higher prices to get them through the supply disruption. In addition, suppliers in other parts of the country would have had an incentive to divert gasoline to New Jersey because of higher (temporary) profits, thereby alleviating the gasoline supply shortfall.
Unfortunately, Christie has made matters worse for the people of the state when he asserted that “profiteers take unfair advantage of people at their most vulnerable.” So in the governor’s view, it is better to have little gas at pre-crisis prices than more supply at market prices, whatever they may be, to increase gasoline supplies.
Murray Sabrin
Fort Lee, Nov. 10
The writer, a professor of finance at Ramapo College of New Jersey in Mahwah, has been a candidate for statewide political office as both a Libertarian and Republican.
Economic freedom comes to Bergen County
11
Nov
On Sunday, November 11 history was made in Bergen County. For the most time in recent memory all commerce could be conducted legally in every town in the County. How apropos economic freedom came to Bergen County on Veterans Day, the holiday we commemorate the service of the men and women who fought to keep America a free country.
Interview in the Lara-Murphy Report
08
Nov
I was recently interviewed about politics and economics. lmr_october2012_interview
For a sample of the LMR, see http://www.usatrustonline.com/
How to end gridlock in DC. Guaranteed.
08
Nov
Now that President Obama has been overwhelmingly reelected, at least by the spread in the Electoral College, and GOP House Speaker John Boehner has made conciliatory statements about working with the administration to prevent the “fiscal cliff,” higher taxes and spending cuts that are scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2013.