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Non-Objective Law

May 23, 2007, 2:48 pm

Via Hit and Run:

Federal Price Gouging Prevention Act - Makes it unlawful for any person
to sell crude oil, gasoline, natural gas, or petroleum distillates at a
price that: (1) is unconscionably excessive; or (2) indicates the
seller is taking unfair advantage unusual market conditions or the
circumstances of an emergency to increase prices unreasonably.

Well, since they establish such a bright-line legal standard like "unconscionably excessive," I guess it is OK.

Tags: , ,
Category: Government
  • CRC

    Next step: Objectively define "unconscionably", "excessive", "unfair", "unusual" and "unreasonably". Once that is settled, enforcement of this law should be a piece of cake.

    But hey, it sounds good on the evening news and at a political stump speech.

  • CRC

    How about this instead:

    Federal Citizen Gouging Prevention Act - Makes it unlawful for any person to sell political promises, platitudes and visions that are: (1) is unconscionably excessive; or (2) indicates the candidate is taking unfair advantage of the ignorance of the populace to garner votes unreasonably.

  • http://www.steamstreet.com Jon Nichols

    And isn't it something that they choose to call out a specific industry? I guess gouging (whatever that is) is OK if you're an internet search engine (with much higher profit margins), but not if you pull oil out of the ground.

  • Dale

    And...prove that "Big Oil" has somehow arbitrarily been setting prices. The Feds have looked into Big Oil's price gouging some 30 times over the last few years and found zero evidence that it has manipulated pricing.

  • CRC

    Wooaaahhh...Hold on there Jon! We're not talking about high tech software, internet and computer companies from Mrs. Pelosi's neck of the woods because...well...umm...errr....well because we're not!

  • http://www.hodakvalue.com/blog M. Hodak

    What do they call it when companies reduce their gas prices? Is this one of those one-way conspiracies? Or was Big Oil less greedy last winter?

  • Dan

    You are all so right. This legislation is ridiculous.

  • Dan

    You are all so right. This legislation is ridiculous.

  • Dan

    You are all so right. This legislation is ridiculous.

  • Dan

    You are all so right. This legislation is ridiculous.