Americans have seen natural disasters hit every corner of the country over the last year. In the wake of the catastrophic events, there's always the warning of price gouging on what could be essential items.
Now, more than a dozen attorneys general are calling on the federal officials to ban price gouging with New York’s Letitia James leading the charge.
In a letter addressed to congressional leaders on both sides of the aisle, James and 14 of her counterparts from across the country are asking for legislation that would prevent companies from increasing prices on commodities during emergencies.
Consumer advocates are pleased with New York’s efforts on the state level, and even happier to see its leaders calling on the federal government to fall in line. But some say it’s a dual-prong issue.
“When you see price gouging, it’s because companies can do it because there is very little competition because there are monopolies,” ALIGN: The Alliance for a Greater New York Executive Director Theodore Moore said. “When you go to certain areas, there is only one grocery store because a lot of the grocery store chains started to merge and there are buyouts and obviously, there is the affect of huge corporations like Amazon and Wal-Mart who really effect the prices that we see.”
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