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title: "Good thing we have the government to protect us from price gougers.…"
date: 2020-03-07
source: facebook
type: Archer T. Ships shared a link.
---

# Good thing we have the government to protect us from price gougers.…

*March 7, 2020 · Facebook*

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[https://reason.com/2020/03/06/to-avoid-charges-of-price-gouging-ebay-bans-sale-of-coronavirus-supplies/](https://reason.com/2020/03/06/to-avoid-charges-of-price-gouging-ebay-bans-sale-of-coronavirus-supplies/){target="_blank"}
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Good thing we have the government to protect us from price gougers.\
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\"Another year, another disaster, another economically misguided tug of war over the merits of \"price gouging.\" The arrival of COVID-19, otherwise known as coronavirus, ushered in a predictable boost in prices for essential goods, as well as well-intentioned but ill-advised government attempts to cap what businesses can charge for those items. Such measures certainly leave an impact: eBay, for example, responded to that pressure yesterday, announcing that it would leave the market entirely and pull all coronavirus-related supplies from its virtual stores.\
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\"As you may have noted, we are seeing literally small hand sanitizers like this going for as much as \$17,\" said California Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, calling the widespread price increases in the state \"unconscionable\" and \"usurious.\" Violators in Newsom\'s jurisdiction face up to a \$10,000 fine and a year in jail. Sen. Ed Markey (D--Mass.) specifically turned to Amazon: While the company and the suppliers it works with \"have a right to expect a reasonable return on the products they sell,\" he wrote in a letter to CEO Jeff Bezos, \"they do not have a right to impose unjustifiably high prices on consumers who are seeking to protect themselves against the coronavirus.\"\"
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