"However, before Andrew, human dirt would show up and corner the market in something like power generators and then sell them after the storm for a 1000% markup. That doesn't happen anymore"
And were these people forced at gunpoint to buy these generators?
Are the people who had money to pay a %1000 percent markup for a generator, but can't now because of this law, better off without the generators?
You only want to feel good about the policy itself. You don't give a rats ass about the negative impact it has on people who are in desperate need. But hey, as long as somebody who REALLY needs a generator is protected from himself paying too much for it, you should feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
That 1000% markup is also an incentive for more suppliers to flood the market with more generators. In the end, isn't it better to have more generators than not in those circumstances? And a flood of generators will quickly bring the prices down.
The scum did not cause the local population of generators to multiply like, well, flashbunnies. They simply swept it up and resold it (to those with enough prescience to store up a quantity of currency that would leave them in danger of a confiscation should they have the misfortune to come across a drug SWAT team).
The anti-gouging law in Florida works. It discourages the worst of human behavior while still allowing enough room for that market to work. As for my generator example, perhaps you don't understand that the local market was being cornered and that an artificial shortage was being created. People don't need that when a major hurricane hits.