Yeah, people definitely had them. Not advertised, but I'm sure for $1k you could get one. Prior to the pandemic I had several boxes of n95/n99 which I bought y

Yeah, people definitely had them. Not advertised, but I'm sure for $1k you could get one. Prior to the pandemic I had several boxes of n95/n99 which I bought years prior to manage California wildfire smoke. I donated most of them to local hospitals when they asked, but I always had a couple left in an opened box which they wouldn't take and I certainly would've sold them at a $1k price point if offered. But, to be more clear, we're talking about reaching price equilibrium to manage demand, and the critique that wealthy people aren't limited by high prices. My argument is that things always have a price (if they're available at all, as you point out). What I'd add is that the wealthy generally consume negligible amounts of resources in these types of scenarios. We didn't run out of masks because billionaires bought them all up. We didn't run out of gas because wealthy people are driving a lot. I think there's a fixation on fairness without stopping to consider whether the issue is particularly relevant. Raising the prices changes the consumption behaviors for the majority, and that's what matters in terms of conservation.