The Wall Street Journal nailed it: The Attorneys General of New York, West Virginia, and Texas have laid a rotten egg. They’re suing Ohio’s Hillandale Farms for price gouging on the sale of eggs.
Americans had become accustomed to spending almost half their food dollars on meals outside the home. Suddenly, the lockdowns forced them to prepare three squares a day in their own kitchens. The demand for eggs soared.
Caught short, the egg producers had to withhold a portion of the eggs they’d intended to sell and leave them under lamps to hatch chicks, which matured into laying hens. This took several weeks, a stunningly short time.
Nationwide, the price quadrupled. In New York, West Virginia, and Texas, egg prices did a little better – they tripled.
Without some monetary incentive, egg suppliers could have serviced only their largest customers. Smaller stores, including those in low-income neighborhoods, may have received none.
Adjusting prices upward enables shortages to end as soon as possible. If shortages are especially intense in New York, higher prices draw products from where modest surpluses prevail. Gouging laws cause shortages to persist, especially among people with low income.
Enlightened states have no gouging laws. The three half-witted attorneys general should be targets of egg-throwing contests.
