The poor just die from cancer. The lower classes "borrow" money from friends and family, because cancer makes a better charity case than "my alternator broke".

The poor just die from cancer. The lower classes "borrow" money from friends and family, because cancer makes a better charity case than "my alternator broke". The middle class, and lower upper class has savings and home equity, and spends all of that to fight cancer. The upper class can spend whatever it takes. Though now that I think about it, maybe the alternator fix is the more effective altruism, because it's something that can keep someone from falling a rung on the economic ladder, and being unable to afford health care. There's never enough, is there.