I don't think things can always be blamed on "corporations". There are plenty of unscrupulous individuals in the world. I'll bet it wasn't the CEO or board of directors of Starbucks that charged extra for water - it was likely a manager or owner (not sure of the company structure).
As for hiking up prices, I've heard good arguments for raising prices when there's a shortage or potential shortage. The extra money made on the price increase can then be turned around and used to acquire more of the product or to acquire good substitutes for the product. It also discourages people from buying as much of it at once and leaves more for other people to buy. As you pointed out, HEB was running out of gas. A lot of good their cheap gas did people who couldn't get there in time. (Not saying they did something "wrong", just saying having more gas available at a higher price might have benefited more people).
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momijizukamori
no subject
Date: 2005-09-23 01:22 pm (UTC)As for hiking up prices, I've heard good arguments for raising prices when there's a shortage or potential shortage. The extra money made on the price increase can then be turned around and used to acquire more of the product or to acquire good substitutes for the product. It also discourages people from buying as much of it at once and leaves more for other people to buy. As you pointed out, HEB was running out of gas. A lot of good their cheap gas did people who couldn't get there in time. (Not saying they did something "wrong", just saying having more gas available at a higher price might have benefited more people).