[salawat]

Price gouging is when you're you're trying to maximize value extraction for minimum effect.

People can deal with propping up a profit for someone going out of their way to get something done as cheaply as they can. Where they get annoyed is when you have the help there, but hold it hostage because you aren't feeling like people are willing to pay you enough. Not once on showing justifiable expenses has anyone ever argued at me being unreasonable.

Further, there's a point of diminishing returns where individual action is best avoided or at least organized to increase effectiveness.

Have your town pool money to hire tankers to run down instead of filling your pickup with gas cans. Force multipliers.

Price gouging laws are there to hedge civic stability. You can't organize people to solve a problem peacefully and efficiently if they're taking up torches amd pitch forks against those greedy haves. Everyone has to still be set, plus a bit extra to give to get community driven force multiplication.