Traumatizing yet inevitable, natural disasters devastate the economy, environment, and predominantly, the people. These unfortunate incidents can, however, induce a means for unity to develop. Hardship is bound to conceive a goal that everyone can strive for. Ideally, each individual would rise to the occasion and contribute from the goodness of their heart, but in reality, such selflessness is rare. The majority requires some form of external motivation to help when their own comfort is not at risk. Money is indeed one such stimulus. It provides for needs when altruism is not in abundance. Although it may seem immoral or cruel to take advantage of desperate victims, the concept of adjusting prices based on demand is not entirely flawed. John Stossel’s video concerning price gouging makes numerous valid points including the quote by …show more content…
With an addition of new laws, this boundary could become clearer. Currently, thirty-four states and the District of Columbia possess laws restricting or forbidding the inflation of costs during crises. According to consumer.findlaw.com, in Utah, it’s feasible to boost the financial value of a product by thirty percent if the services “were not provided immediately before the declaration.” This happens to be the highest percentage of potential profit. Nevertheless, ten percent is the most common increase legally granted by these types of laws. From a business perspective, ten percent is on the extreme lower end of the spectrum considering products such as medications have a retail markup of over one thousand percent. Medicine to an ill patient is just as crucial as a generator or clean drinking water may be to a natural disaster victim, yet the first type of price escalation is illegal while the other is applauded as good