Identify fallacious assumptions behind popular perspectives about the market. People who have suffered a disaster ought not to have to suffer a second time at the hands of greedy sellers taking advantage of the urgency of the their need. This defies the basic principles of supply and demand. Natural disasters cause an increase in the demand relative to the supply for goods like electric generators. The extra generators are available to relieve people's suffering only after the market price is allowed to increase.
Value is subjective since it resides only in the mind of the person faced with a choice.
This in itself makes evaluating and comparing other peoples' needs very difficult, still more so considering the amount of information that would need to be gathered about the particular circumstances and alternatives that thousands of different individuals face. People trying to obtain lumber after a hurricane have the incentive to exaggerate their need if being able to obtain lumber depends on their own report. This makes the evaluation still more difficult and favors those who lie over those who are honest about their needs. When people must pay a higher price, they needn't report their level of need, only decide whether it justifies the higher price. There is no incentive to exaggerate or lie and no need to collect information about the uses to which people plan to put the generators.