[ExI] Why is "cost of living" such a big problem?

[Ben Zaiboc]

On 05/11/2026 02:23, spike/Keith wrote:
>
>     Capitalism is good at developing new medications.  The whole world uses them.  We are there for you.  Capitalism is our friend. spike
>
> >…That has nothing to do with world wars.
> Keith
>
>
> But It has everything to do with developing medications useful to every society made of humans.  Capitalism is good at manufacturing stuff, which helped Britain defeat their adversaries in both world wars.  Capitalism is good at developing new technologies, such as medical technology and computers, which every society can use.  Capitalism is our friend.


I'm detecting a broken record here, but at the risk of becoming one myself, I have to reiterate:

Capitalism is good, yes, /when constrained by moral and sensible economic considerations/ (exemplified by the Nordic model of Social Democacy, among others)).

Unfettered capitalism (the kind currently reigning in America) is not good, because while it does deliver some benefits, it also drives the majority of people into poverty, making them unable to afford the goods provided by capitalism, including health care.
When a significant proportion of a population can't afford (or are otherwise prevented from using (see below)), their own health system, there's clearly something very wrong.

Reading some of the links I provided earlier will show that, at least with healthcare, the biggest problem seems to be the insurance companies. Middlemen, which, as seems to be the case in every industry, wedge themselves in between providers and consumers, driving prices up, wriggling out of their obligations as much as possible, then profiting from both sides, not actually producing anything, just raking in as much cash as they can.
-- 
Ben
"The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything." - Pablo Casals, via Albert Einstein