To follow Doug's thread a little: overcharging customers can't lead to overall economic growth, because the cost just becomes an excessive liability for some other business. It's a wash.
====================
Sounds right to me.
To use Microsoft (yet again) as an example, the excessive cost of its software and endless licensing fees are, in my experience, driving mid-size -- and even some quite large -- firms to reconsider the *Microsoft tax*. They still use Microsoft software but, to Redmond's dismay, enforce long pauses between upgrades, deciding to use old Microsoft products for as long as possible.
So, the price gouging seems to produce, over time, static, slowly growing or even declining sales. Of course, there are countless ways of gaming this to keep your numbers looking fantastic but the sales effort is harmed by overpricing.
.d.