Yesterday, Axios published a comprehensive explanation for how price gouging statutes work in the 38 states that deploy them – from Texas to California to Louisiana. The piece highlights the potential benefits of a federal price gouging ban, which would make it easier to hold big corporations accountable for price gouging.
Axios points to the strong utilization of price gouging statutes during the pandemic:
“Every state’s price gouging laws were triggered in the pandemic; an unprecedented situation that led to dozens of actions against companies for price gouging. In New York, Tyson Foods is still fending off a civil probe looking into pandemic price gouging. Other states, like Tennessee — no commie stronghold — went after sellers who marked up hand sanitizer. The Florida AG’s office issued 70 subpoenas investigating price gouging around PPE.“
NBC News also reported:
“In March 2020, Trump himself issued an executive order to head off corporate price gouging and the hoarding of ‘necessary health and medical resources,’ like personal protective equipment and sanitizing products. That move, under the Defense Production Act, ordered the departments of Justice and Health and Human Services to police any pandemic-related corporate malfeasance, including stockpiling “unnecessary quantities of items for the purpose of selling them above the fair market value.”
Email press@groundworkcollaborative.org to speak with a Groundwork expert about price gouging in the food and grocery sector.
Price Gouging Bans are Common Sense
Gov. Andy Beshear (D-KY)
“I pursued price-gouging statutes and their violations when it comes to the price of gas in Kentucky, and we won and ultimately returned millions of dollars to our people. This isn’t about trying to price fix. It’s just making sure that the economy is operating the way it should, that this is really supply and demand, which we all respect.” [8/18/24]
Isabella Weber, University of Massachusetts – Amherst
“When disasters are the best of times for corporate profits, there is little hope for resilience. That’s why anti-price gouging laws are essential economic policy in a world of emergencies. They are necessary guardrails even when inflation is easing.” [8/21/24]
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)
“This should not be a controversial thing from the standpoint of wanting to make sure that we are lowering costs, allowing corporations and companies to function in the context of a properly regulated market-based economy. But we are driving down the high price of things like lifesaving prescription drugs, making sure that people can afford groceries because there are millions of Americans who are struggling to live paycheck to paycheck. That should not be the case in America, the richest country in the history of the world.” [8/20/24]
Lindsay Owens, Groundwork Collaborative
“(Nearly) 40 states have price gouging laws on the books. These are red states, these are blue states – this is Idaho, this is Texas, this is Louisiana. (Former President) Donald Trump did price gouging laws. He used the executive authority he had under the Defense Production Act to crack down on price gouging of medical supplies during the pandemic.”
“…These are really common sense consumer protections that say, ‘Look, you’re a company, you can’t rip off consumers.’ You can’t use the pandemic or a period of high inflation as an excuse to run up the score.” [8/19/24]