There’s a thin line between ludicrous profits and extortion of the needy…but where is it at?

Price gouging is a somewhat difficult thing to form a black and white opinion on. On one hand I would be tempted to say that its unethical and wrong to do, but when you think about it, the suppliers in a price gouging situation have the right to charge whatever they want; no one is forcing the consumers to buy the product. The suppliers do have extra costs and there are more risks involved, so to some extent higher prices should be expected in disasters. However, just because one has the right to do something doesn't necessarily mean that they should. Even though no one would be forcing consumers to pay $20 for a bottle of water in the aftermath of a disaster, the consumers do need the water so they're options are limited: pay the price and live or keep they're money and die. If decent people where operating during a situation like this, one would expect a reasonable profit to be made as well as somewhat higher prices, for a time, simply to cover the suppliers extra costs. One would also expect the consumers to have they're needs met at a reasonable price and without being taken advantage of.

Why are movie tickets almost $10?

It was mentioned in class that movie tickets are somewhat immune to changes in the economy. I thought this was interesting because I had noticed this myself, particularly after they raised the price of movie tickets by a couple of dollars.
Even though it is quite noticeable that they do seem to poses some sort of resistance to fluctuations in the economy, Im not quite sure why they do. How can something, which I would consider a luxury, do just as well in a recession as it does in good times? Perhaps movie goers have simply placed it at the top of their list. Perhaps AMC 20 gives out some sort of awesome coupons which I am unaware of. Or, could it be that movie patrons are generally effected less by recessions then others, and therefore give an advantage to theatres?
However they manage, I personally find their resilience intriguing. If anyone has any further insight into this I would appreciate it if you posted your thoughts.

Up and Running

My blog for microeconomics is now operational. I think...