“I’ve been told all morning that this shows good business sense.”
That is not the right thing to be discussing.
In a disaster situation such as this, would you rather be able to buy water to drink when, or would you rather go thirsty?
If you do not mind going thirsty, then do not shop for water.
If, however, you want a drink of water and you are willing to pay for it, then it will be available for you to buy.
I’m sorry if I sound patronizing, but it really is that simple. The “anti-gouging” laws and penalties prolong shortage - (think Soviet bread lines) interfere with the normal marketplace, and it should not shock you to hear that this marketplace is driven by a profit motive.
If you accept the profit motive as the primary mechanism to eliminate shortage of anything, your outrage will disappear, because you have just figured out how the world works.
Now how in the world did you get this far in life, and be on this board for as long as you have and not understand this?
Don’t be a jerk. Hope that doesn’t sound too condescending.
Please, be my guest: next time there is an unmitigated disaster in your area such as a 9/11 or a Sandy or a Harvey, please buy up all the necessary supplies, wildly inflate the prices, and go out and attempt to sell them. Then report back to us so we can hear how it all went down hunky-dory and how your customers agreed that “there was no such thing as price gouging” and that they were happy to buy a sip of water from you because it prevented breadlines...or something like that.