You are though, forced to sell at the governments chosen “fair price” if you sell at all .
In Christie’s rinoland, you are dealing with rationing. Prices are not fixed. Profits are fixed to prevent lowly scum from benefiting off the suffering of others during a disaster. Really, it can be seen as a fire prevention insurance plan.
"Fixing profits" is also what keeps many gas station owners from even bothering to open their businesses even if they have full tanks of gasoline in the ground. Why incur the extra cost of bringing generators to your place of business when the government has laws that keep you from raising prices to cover the cost of the generators?
New Jersey has a huge "surplus" of gasoline right now. Unfortunately, most of that gasoline is sitting in tanks under the ground at gas stations that haven't been open in days.
You're witnessing an "Atlas Shrugged" scenario unfolding right in front your eyes here.