Tuesday, March 10, 2020

WTF?

From ZeroHedge:

New York Is Producing Its Own Hand Sanitizer To Combat Price Gouging

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo unveiled a new line of NY-branded hand sanitizer, called 'NYS Clean,' during a press conference Monday morning where he confirmed that the number of Covid-19 cases in New York State had climbed to 142.
The hand sanitzer, Cuomo said, will be produced by Corcraft, the business name of the New York State Department of Corrections, which uses prison labor, and pays prisoners an average of 65 cents an hour, to create things like license plates, Gothamist reports. At $6 a gallon, the moonshine sanitizer will be significantly cheaper than the store-bought stuff, which has recently been selling as high as $100+ a gallon, even after Cuomo vowed to crack down on outbreak-related price gouging. Cuomo said the state should be able to produce 100,000 gallons of the stuff a week.
"We’re introducing NYS clean hand sanitizer, made conveniently by the state of New York," Gov. Andrew Cuomo said. "This is a superior product to products now on the market."
Here's the clip:
Cuomo joked that the NYS-made hand sanitizer had a "floral bouquet", and that NY State was sending a lesson to "Mr. Ebay and Mr. Amazon" - presumably referring to the sellers using those platforms to gouge consumers.
He added that the state’s product is 75% alcohol compared to name-brand competitor Purell, which is made of 70% alcohol. Health officials recommend using a hand sanitizer made of at least 60 percent alcohol, per the Hill.
"To Purell, and Mr. Amazon and Mr. eBay, if you continue the price gouging, we will introduce our product, which is superior to your product," Cuomo said. "And you don't even have the floral bouquet, so stop price gouging."
New Yorkers won't be able to buy the stuff, but it will be distributed for free in the subway and NYC schools: New York will distribute its product to government agencies, including schools, the MTA and - crucially - prisons (because it would be cruel to deny them a share of the stuff that they're producing, right?)
Cuomo said creating and distributing the product is cheaper for the state than purchasing competing brands

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