There is the ultimate philosphical / meta-economics / anthropological question. Let's see: if we price it out of the range of the people that really need it now, then we insure a supply for those that afford it more later? Or, those that can afford it now don't really need it, so if we price it high enough they won't do a 'luxury buy' now, and this is better, because the people that can't afford the luxury buy will be forced to pay whatever the market will bear later? Or, supply, demand, and market forces will ultimately make it all come out right for the masses, because survival of the economically fittest wins out? Makes my brain tired.

Why not just level the price, and after an emergency has been declaired, limit the quantity of the buy to preserve stock? There is something wrong with a nieghborhood grocery store selling a pallett of water to an ordinary joe with no declaired purpose under these conditions. Yeah, I know, it imposes a burden upon the poor, pitiful, put upon, retailer, but if you can limit scalping, why can't you limit last minute hording?

BTW: the store in question said they did not have the manpower to rollout a pallett of water for him, and he would have to move it himself.