Everyone in my timeline appears guilty of this, such as laughing at people panic buying toilette paper. It's the universal constant that other people's decisions that don't match yours must be because they are stupid, evil, lazy, greedy, etc.
As far as I can tell, nobody is "panic buying" toilette paper or "hoarding" it. Instead, it appears that toilette paper is particularly insensitive to demand shocks, and thus one of the first items likely to disappear from shelves when people prepare for weeks at home.
This is exactly my point. The videos don't show what you think they show. They instead show people buying only a one single unit of toilet paper. They don't show people either panic buying or hoarding.
One unit of toilet paper at Costco is freaking huge. Thus, it looks like they are panic buying a huge amount, since they are buying a huge amount. But that's just the normal amount you buy if Costco is the place you normally buy toilet paper.
Yes, there's that one person who stocks up on 10 units, stacking their cart in a small tower. So the camera of the video follows that person, so you have the impression everyone is buying 10 of those huge units. What we don't see is how rare that person is.
That one person isn't panicking. That person has a story. Maybe they are a caregiving stocking up for people who can't make it to the store. Maybe they are buying supplies for the local church.
Yes, but is the lack of toilet paper on the shelves a demand problem or a supply problem? If the demand for all goods doubles, some will still be available on the shelves, others won't be.
The supply chain that delivers toilet paper to Costco is different than the supply chain the delivers canned food. One is likely to run out before the other. Whichever one runs out first we point and laugh at people for "panic buying".
