"Price gouging."

Story here.

Ask the people who were running out of gas while fleeing Katrina because they couldn't find a station open if they thought that was preferable to paying whatever the owner of an open wanted to charge.

It's either worth what the owner of the product charges to you, or it's not. If it is, buy it. If it's not, don't.

Would YOU put your life on the line in the middle of a hurricane, or in the sewagy aftermath of one, to make a couple of cents profit on a gallon of gas? Didn't think so. You'd stay out of the area entirely. But for the right profit, you might venture in.

I see nothing wrong with people charging whatever they want to charge for something they own, especially with the danger they put themselves in to stay open. Think of it as hazard pay.