Los efectos del libre mercado (economía ideológica para idiotas) entran a Nueva York, en la forma de precios mayores a la gente en necesidad que trata de reconstruir su vida. A mayor demanda, los precios suben. ¿Es justo que suban los precios para los damnificados? Es pura especulación, aprovechar la inelasticidad de precios de la gente que necesita sobrevivir.
Superstorm Sandy exposed the true nature of the people in its path, bringing out tales of hope and heroism -- as well as stories of callous cruelty. Looting, price gouging and misguided rage all compounded the unprecedented storm, and left many folks shaking their heads and wondering just how low people could sink. Gas was siphoned from cars, criminals posed as relief workers, cruel thieves picked through the unprotected possessions of neighbors who had lost nearly everything. Utility crews working around the clock to restore power to citizens were even assaulted by angry residents. Some of the worst looting came in the areas hardest hit, where victims had the least means of protecting themselves and their possessions. In the Coney Island section of Brooklyn, bandits ransacked a drugstore, making off with thousands of pharmaceutical items late last week. In addition to gas, hotel rooms, batteries and generators were going for well above their regular prices as desperate victims scrambled to survive. "Our office has zero tolerance for price gouging," Schneiderman said. "We are actively investigating hundreds of complaints we've received from consumers of businesses preying on victims of Hurricane Sandy, and will do everything we can to stop unscrupulous individuals from taking advantage of New Yorkers trying to rebuild their lives." - Price gouging, looting and rage: Superstorm Sandy brings out the worst in some
En los EUA a los que especulan en emergencias los arrestan. Pero hay quienes alaban la especulación en emergencias, como si "la economía" tuviera que prevalecer por encima del ser humano.
Complaining about greedy profiteers is probably politically smart. John Shepperson was one of the "gougers" arrested. Shepperson and his family live in Kentucky. They watched news reports about Katrina and learned that people desperately needed things. Shepperson thought he could help, so he bought 19 generators. He and his family then rented a U-Haul and drove 600 miles to an area of Mississippi left without power. He offered to sell his generators for twice what he had paid for them, and people were eager to buy. But police confiscated his generators, and jailed Shepperson for four days. The police kept his generators. - In praise of 'price gouging'
El suministro de gasolina es pobre porque la electricidad es limitada. Algunas estaciones tienen gasolina, pero no pueden bombearla, algunas tienen electricidad pero no gasolina. ¿Sería justo que los especuladores vendieran electricidad usando generadores con combustible al doble del precio normal, a lugares como hospitales y refugios de emergencia?
Un amigo americano cristiano me dijo que los "yankees" (neoyorquinos) siempre andan diciendo no ser cristianos y no necesito decir lo que opina de ellos. Por esa zona son muy laicos. Nueva York, el corazón financiero mundial, responsable de la crisis de 2008 y el hambre de 1000 millones de seres humanos, repartió con el rescate bancario TARP el equivalente a 35 veces la ayuda internacional a Haití. El presidente del banco Goldman Sachs, Lloyd Blankfein, responsable de la crisis griega, dijo "estoy haciendo el trabajo de Dios" (I'm doing God's work). Los que acamparon en el parque Zucotti protestando contra la élite, fueron desalojados con armas sónicas. Y ahora, tras el huracán Sandy, una tormenta les golpea de nuevo. Y ahora la portada de un tabloide dice "Dios nos odia".
NEW YORK - “God hates us,” was the screaming headline of a local tabloid on Thursday as New York and much of the US Northeast dug out from a snowstorm that hammered a region struggling to recover from the devastation of Hurricane Sandy. The headline was run by The New York Post, noting that after the devastation caused by Sandy, the region has been hit by snow and ice. The two storms have put the residents of US East Coast under severe strain. Early winter storm dumped more than a foot of snow on parts of Connecticut and battered the region with 50 mph winds, plunging 300,000 homes and businesses back into darkness. Bitter cold, rain, snow and powerful winds added to the misery of disaster victims whose homes were destroyed or power was knocked out by Sandy. The storm came ashore on October 29th and caused widespread flooding, leading up to as much as $50 billion in economic - God hates us
Mientras tanto, sin preocuparse de leyes de mercado ni leyes absurdas de economía, Venezuela envía ayuda humanitaria a Cuba.
LA HABANA, Cuba, nov. 11, 2012.- El segundo barco con ayuda humanitaria procedente de Venezuela para paliar los daños provocados por el huracán "Sandy" llegó a Cuba con un cargamento de 449 toneladas de productos y equipos diversos, informaron medios locales. - Ayuda humanitaria de Venezuela llega a Cuba para damnificados de 'Sandy'
¿Economía o humanidad? ¿Especulación o compasión? ¿Bajo qué principios debe regirse la asistencia al necesitado?
