At the height of the coronavirus pandemic, we've seen price gouging like no other. Health and cleaning supplies including toilet paper, hand sanitizer, and Clorox wipes were being mass purchased by people and in many cases, were resold on websites like eBay and Facebook Marketplace to other people in need. This topic of price gouging is debated by many when discussing economics. Price Gouging is defined as "an act or instance of charging customers too high a price for goods or services, especially when demand is high and supplies are limited" from dictionary.com (dictionary.com). Lots of people believe that not only is price gouging is immoral, but that it should be illegal. For many people living in the United States, it actually can be illegal. Thirty-nine states currently have laws or regulations in place that prohibit price gouging during states of emergency according to the National Conference of State Legislators (ncsl.org). On the other hand, there are many people who argue that price gouging should not be illegal. There are even some economists that believe that price gouging does not exist. It is not always the best when the government interferes with the market and maybe price gouging should be legal in all circumstances.
Whether it should be legal or illegal, I believe that as Christians, we should view price gouging emergency items and taking advantage of people in need as immoral and sinful. In a lot of instances, greed is what drives people to gauge items to extreme prices. There are many verses in the Bible that speak against greed and the extreme desires of money. One verse that relates to this topic is Proverbs 14:31, which states that “Whoever oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God.” (NIV). So, trying to use price gouging and other methods to take advantage is certainly something that is immoral and wrong to do.
However, while in many cases price gouging can be immoral, I do not believe it should be illegal. There are many things that are considered immoral but still legal to do in our country. Lying, adultery, and using offense language are all sins according to the Bible, but still legal in the United States. The reason for this is because it is not the government’s job to control people’s moral beliefs. If there were laws prohibiting those things, it would go against people’s first amendment rights and freedom. In the same way, I think that price gouging is immoral in a lot of ways but should be legal for people to do.
Sources:
National Conference of State Legislators. (2021, May 17). Price gouging state statutes. Legislative News, Studies and Analysis | National Conference of State Legislatures. https://www.ncsl.org/research/financial-services-and-commerce/price-gouging-state-statutes.aspx
Price gouging. (n.d.). www.dictionary.com. https://www.dictionary.com/browse/price-gouging