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

[spike at rainier66.com]

-----Original Message-----
From: extropy-chat <extropy-chat-bounces at lists.extropy.org> On Behalf Of Ben
Zaiboc via extropy-chat
Sent: Friday, 6 November, 2026 9:17 AM
To: extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org
Cc: Ben Zaiboc <benzaiboc at proton.me>
Subject: Re: [ExI] Why is "cost of living" such a big problem?

On 06/11/2026 16:20, spike wrote:
> Profiteering: is going to work profiteering?  Is investing 
> profiteering?  Is doing anything profiteering?  How are we defining the
term?


The term has a well-established definition. I used the internet to look it
up for you:

>...Profiteering
noun
The act of making an unreasonable profit not justified by the corresponding
assumption of risk...


OK I see we have defined profiteering by introducing the term
"unreasonable."  Who gets to determine what is unreasonable?


> >...Research is risky. Most companies fail to find the profitable solution
first. Without profiteering, there is no profit, and there are no
shareholders. Shareholders go to other industries.


>...Reconsider your statement above, in light of the meaning of the word.

>...There are reasonable profits, and there is profiteering. Two different
things. Can you now agree to that?

Sure, if you can agree that the profit on successful medication must cover
the losses on unsuccessful ones, if we want to keep investors coming.

>...If so, try to explain the Epipen scenario that Henrik described as
anything other than profiteering. Try to defend a $600 price for a $1 dose
of a natural substance (no drug development involved) in a simple plastic
and metal device....

Ben, you are aware that one need not use epipens, ja?  I used five of them
recently, but switched out to standard syringes for self-medication because
I went on Medicare, which will not cover those.  Epipens are convenient, but
not necessary.  I don't see the logic in buying them at a huge premium.  Do
you?

Patients were self-injecting their meds before epipens existed.  Those
devices are convenient but not necessary.  If a company can make those, I
have no doubt they will charge what the market will bear.  Solution: don't
buy them.  Then the market will not bear the unreasonable profit, and we
have a definition of "unreasonable."

>...I don't know how much the pen costs to produce, but I suspect it will be
less than the cost of the adrenaline it contains.... Ben

What did adrenaline users do before epipens were invented?  Can they not do
that now?

spike