Re: Terrorist scalpers...

[Alan McKendree <amck@thenetdr.com>]

>Date: Mon, 4 Mar 2002 11:13:45 EST
>From: Deliphus01@aol.com
>
>>> tickets.  Wherehouse music in New Orleans probably sells 75% of CDs in the
>
>Oh? What happened to Tower, which was the best store last time I was there?
>And how many music stores are within 20 miles or so of the city limits of NO,
>and add how many are IN town, and how many outlets do you have there to get
>the music from? Let me warn you: I just did a quick search and found 47
>within ten miles of the center of town. And that's just ONE city!

He shoots he scooores...

>BTW, I think
>the brokers DO have pre-arranged contracts with the venues,

What's your theory as to why the venues bother to sell top tickets to
brokers when they know they could sell them themselves?

>And once
>people stop paying $500 for a ticket, the price WILL come down. All by
>itself...no laws required.

You're exactly right.  Pardon me if I don't hold my breath waiting for that
to happen.

>I don't know that I see them as "heroes," but I'll admit they do stimulate
>the economy regionally.

Excellent.  I feel we should call this a meeting of the minds and break out
the cookies.

>I'd have to define a "hero" as someone who resisted
>the urge to gouge and sold the stuff for the usual price.

I'm not sure under what theory they could be called heroes.  IF your
concern is for the people who have been hit by the disaster, you should
strongly endorse selling supplies for the highest price possible, as that
is the fastest way to bring more supplies flooding in and depress prices
back to normal, see below.

>Providing the services quickly, yes, charging
>more for them, no. It seems to me that the higher price would have a longer
>term negative effect that would more than take the wind out of any short term
>economic bounce.

Can we agree that in a crisis (e.g., hurricane) demand for food and
services goes up?  If so, what possible good would it do for the stores to
sell out of their supplies at the good old price and then shut down until
more supplies come in...IF they come in?  All that does is to create a
scene like we go through every time a Who show goes on sale...a feeding
frenzy for twenty minutes, then 90% of the "buyers" go away disappointed
and the 10% get to work reselling the supplies just like ticket brokers do
now. Annoying when it's concert tickets, a bit more serious when it's food.

Nor would there be any incentive for more supplies to come in from farthter
away.  Let the prices rise to market level and you'll not only have orderly
sales but quickly increasing supplies if necessary.  Put it this way...if
you knew used CDs could be sold in Georgia for $30 a pop wouldn't you wan
to find a way to get some stock there ASAP?

[Alas Babylon]
>I would like to reread it...thanks for reminding me of that one.

My pleasure.

>> properly defined context, all capitalism is "responsible" as a matter
>> of course.
>
>I guess that's why laws that limit the amount of poison that can be poored
>into our drinking water table exist...

Exactly so. And I don't see this as a knock on capitalism, the same limits
would be imposed by any proper government, thus on any economic system. If
pressed, I might be able to find some articles on pollution under the old
USSR, and I KNOW you'd rather be here than there.

>> And, don't look now, but responsible capitalism will be instilled into
>> healthcare soon.
>
>Not until AT LEAST 2004.

Pooh.  Democrats want to move healthcare away from capitalism even faster
than do the Republicans.  Hillary took the best running shot in recent
memory at socializing the whole industry, but fumbled. (For more info,
please see Christopher Hitchins' _No One Left to Lie To: the Triangulations
of William Jefferson Clinton_, pp 54-7.  [BTW: Hitchin's left-wing
credentials are beyond reproach.])

Cheers,

Alan

"Never never hesitate, communicate, communicate..." --Pete Townshend