[Prudence]

Because I'm in class and reading umpteen hypotheticals makes one start thinking like that all the damn time enough already with the damn hypos egads can't I just think like a normal person for 5 minutes?!:

Is there ever a point where a commodity should be regulated? For example: suppose that locally accessible water supplies were contaminated. For the purposes of this hypothetical, assume that all bodies of water and rain water are contaminated and the contamination can not be reversed. Water demand would nonetheless continue. Should water vendors be permitted to charge whatever they want for water, knowing that there are no other options and that humans require water to sustain life? Is the expectation that people should then, in such hypothetical, physically move to areas where water is cheaper or available in nature? And if so, is that an acceptible operation of market force? Or do we want some outer boundaries?