First of all: "the market is glutted with face masks [and hand sanitizer]." This is a massive success of the free market, mitigated only by the unfortunate fac

First of all: "the market is glutted with face masks [and hand sanitizer]." This is a massive success of the free market, mitigated only by the unfortunate fact that, as it turns out, those are not the most useful bits of PPE. Second, contrary to the pro-price-gouging argument, the real issue is risk aversion: nobody will sign the long term contracts required for manufacturers to justify the investment (and, by the way, are functionally the same as a higher price). Why? Because providers in places where shortages actually manifest - largely poor & rural areas - are nearly bankrupt anyway. They can't guarantee payment for sh*t in the long term. Ultimately, this issue is exactly the type of thing we need collective action for: pool our resources & buy together to defray long-term costs. Bluntly, the government should be guaranteeing these contracts. But they don't AFAIK - and that's the failing.