If it's hurricane time, it's also time for the war on price gougers. Hurricane Harvey is certainly no exception.

When a Best Buy in Houston began selling 24-packs of Dasani water for $42.96 and 12-packs of Smartwater for $29.98, the masses went ballistic, as did Texas officials. According to Grit Post, Houstonian John McGovern, who provided Grid Post with a photo of the Best Buy water prices, exclaimed,

It's taking advantage of people in need to make easy money playing off fear. Best Buy doesn't need to sell water at $43 a case. They don't need the money. I understand the law of supply and demand and the cost and availability of goods being shipped to an area once a disaster hits. This was before there was a shortage. This is pure greed.

Another Houstonian, Patricia Isaac, provided Grit Post with a photo of bottled water being sold at a Kroger for $13.99 when the usual price is around $4.99 or $5.99.

By Tuesday, the Texas Attorney General's office has received 550 complaints and 225 emails regarding price gouging. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton told Fox News that price gougers who gouge people will be fined $20,000, unless the victim is a senior citizen, in which case the fine will be raised to $250,000.

Kayleigh Lovvorn, a media relations official for the Texas Attorney General's office, said, "Unfortunately, price gouging like this can be common following natural disasters."

Well, doh! I wonder why that is!

What these people do not understand is that the natural law of supply and demand is not suspended simply because a disaster hits. It remains as operative in a hurricane as the law of gravity does.

In fact, what such people don't realize is that the so-called price gouger is doing everyone a service with the extraordinarily high price that he is setting for his products, including bottled water.

First of all, let's keep in mind that all these products are private property. That is, they belong to the owner, not the community and not the government. Under principles of private property, the owner can do whatever he wants with what rightfully belongs to him. If he wants to keep it instead of selling it or giving it away, that's his decision. No one can rightfully force him to sell or donate what belongs to him. If he decides to sell it, he is free to sell at whatever price he wants. By the same token, no one is forced to buy from him. That's what a private-property system and a free-market system are all about.

If the owner decides to sell, the law of supply and demand will determine the price at which the item is sold and bought. If supply is scarce or if demand is high, prices will tend to be higher. If supply is plentiful and demand low, prices will tend to be lower.

In a hurricane, things like bottled water or ice will naturally soar in price. That's because supply of such items is suddenly scarce and demand suddenly high.

The extremely high price is a good thing, not a bad thing. Why? Because the enormously high price sends critically important signals to both consumers and entrepreneurs.