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I am not in any way defending the practice of "price gouging", particularly during an emergency, but you must realize there is a benefit from raising prices significantly when, fueled by a sense of panic, the demand for critical goods is extraordinary.

That is, if retailers are prohibited from raising prices on the rapidly decreasing volume of critical goods, there soon would be none left as people buy up these precious goods even faster than their immediate need requires them to do. By raising the price in response to the often incredible demand, people would buy less of a specific item and, although at a much higher temporary price, these critical goods would still be available. I think that's a better situation than to not have these critical goods available at any price. (Note that if the retailer raises the price too much, people won't buy them and the lack of demand will force the price back down.

We saw the effects of panic buying during the toilet paper debacle in the early phase of the Fauci Flu, and the unavailability of generators during the deliberate electrical grid shutdowns during the wildfires a few years ago out here in California.

Just something to consider ... a different perspective.