Scared citizens in Singapore aren’t just having to deal with trying to quell the almost unstoppable force that is the Zika virus, now they also have to deal with greedy people hoarding insect repellent just so they can then sell it for a higher price when the item is in short supply in regular stores. These unscrupulous individual are suitably called “flippers”. With the stores currently experiencing major shortages in the area of insect repellent, a can of spray that would cost $8 is now being hawked for a whopping $12. That’s almost a fifty percent markup!
It’s sad when rather than unite in these dark times, people instead use this crisis as an opportunity to profit themselves off the misfortune of others. These flippers are depriving the people that need the insect repellent most during this epidemic, pregnant women. The allure of cold hard cash is more overpowering than the realization that more babies will be born with microcephaly because of hoarding practices like this. The pharmacies are at least trying to limit the extent to which people are able to hoard and then “flip” these products, some placing strict limits on the number of products one can purchase in order to guarantee there is enough for all. What is the world coming to?
Do you see this kind of greed taking hold of American citizens as the Zika epidemic spreads in Florida?
