Just read a discussion on supply and demand from the perspective of 22lr ammo: buying all retail stock to create an apparent shortage, and selling at a mark-up.
For clarity (as I was made aware I failed at clarity in this post), what I am about to describe are effectively bullet scalpers operating the same way as ticket scalpers.
The discussion started with someone calling for people to refuse to buy from the people marking it up so as to lower the incentive for people to do this. The people who have made it their business to restrict consumer access through convenient and affordable retail channels got butt-hurt, claiming that the ones calling for a boycott on these mark-up re-sellers were espousing liberal, "pro-Obummer" market philosophies (yes, the dipsticks actually used the word "Obummer"). They claimed there was nothing unethical about their business because the consumer can choose NOT to buy from them...
But wait... that's exactly what the original poster that started conversation called for. He didn't call for the government to mandate market restrictions, he called for consumers to adjust their buying habits in a way that serves the greater good, and discourages these mark-up re-sellers.
It really, REALLY bugs me when people can't keep their own politics straight. I'm an "on paper conservative", but these dipsticks are the reason I vote Democrat. I'd love to have an informed market making intelligent decisions and having that work it's force on what is produced and at what cost. But when you have these hypocritical nincompoops driving up prices and whining when people don't want to buy from them any more, and the politicians cater to THEIR sorry butts! Oy! I'd rather have a regulated economy than an unregulated cronyism and bribery-based economy.
