It is also important to note that price gougers (so called) are simply selling their private property at a price they and others agree to. Private property rights make up the core of what our country is founded on. If I own something, I should have the right to part with it at the price other people are willing to pay. Voluntary, free exchange is not allowed in places like Venezuela. It was not allowed in the former Soviet Union. Instead, governments set prices at "fair" levels and people could not find anything due to the shortages that were created.