Did you see those packs of water being sell at a Best Buy memory in Houston for as much as $ 42 per pack ? The photos went viral as an model of predatory Leontyne Price - gouging in the wake of Hurricane Harvey . But the companionship is now apologizing and say it was all a bigmisunderstanding . Meanwhile , CNBC does n’t think that calamity capitalism is such a big deal .
There have been over 550 ill so far about monetary value gouging on everything from food to gasoline . According to the Texas Attorney General , the price gouging has included hotel prices quadruple , fuel for as much as $ 10 per gal , and case of water being sell for $ 99 .
But Best Buy was recently single out on social spiritualist when a tweet show that some mob were being sold at a Houston location for $ 29 while other display case of water system were $ 42 . People were disgust , to say the least .
https://twitter.com/embed/status/902571298521399296
“ This was a large error on the part of a few employee at one depot on Friday , ” a Best Buy spokespersontold CNBC .
“ As a company we are focused on helping , not hurting affected people . We ’re grim and it wo n’t happen again , ” the financial statement stay .
“ Not as an alibi but as an account , we do n’t typically sell cases of water . The mistake was made when employee priced a case of water using the individual - bottleful monetary value for each nursing bottle in the case , ” the interpreter from Best Buy reason .
The penalty for price gouging in Texas is a amercement of up to $ 20,000 per infraction . And if the victim is over the eld of 65 , thefine is up to $ 250,000 . So while Best Buy contends that it was all an honest mistake , they have a legal responsibility not to price gouge during a disaster . That ’s the law in Texas .
But astonishingly , a host from CNBC acknowledged that while it might be immoral to overcharge during a crisis , he still wondered if the natural law should be impose . CNBC had the Attorney General of Texas , Ken Paxton , on their web this calendar week and asked why businesses should n’t be allowed to chargewhatever they desire , even after a rude calamity .
“ Attorney General , clearly all of us would be agree that it ’s a moral issue to hear and oversell necessities at a time of crisis . Is it and should it be a legal publication as well ? ” the CNBC hostasked . “ sure as shooting it ’s up to the vender to sell their production at the monetary value they wish , even if virtuously clearly at this time they should n’t be overcharging for necessities . ”
The Attorney General shot back that the legal philosophy is in spot for a reason and that he was go to implement it .
“ Well , clearly the Texas legislative body thought differently , because they were the ace who put the penalty in place . It ’s up to $ 20,000 per occurrence and if you do this to somebody 65 and older it ’s $ 250,000 per occurrence , ” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton say .
“ So , of course , our general assembly , signed by a governor many years ago , clearly did n’t desire during born disasters the necessities to be jacked up in Leontyne Price , ” Paxton cover . “ So that was a decision that they made and we ’re enforcing it . ”
It ’s incredible that anyone could ask whether selling $ 100 cases of water is actually good in the middle of this disaster like this , but here we are . Nothing , not even the lives of hundreds of thousands of people , should apparently get in the fashion of spend a penny a buck .
[ CNBC ]
Correction : This Wiley Post originally misstated one of the cost for the pack of water system . I regret the error .
Best BuyKen Paxton
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