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Exactly this. Me and the wife were talking about this a few moments ago and concluded that the entire health system in the US is fucked. I've seen people post i

Exactly this. Me and the wife were talking about this a few moments ago and concluded that the entire health system in the US is fucked. I've seen people post itemized bills from their outpatient procedure or brief hospital stay and, to a European, it's mind boggling. People in the US are getting gouged on everything healthcare related. Wife's position is that the free market works fine for non essentials but when it comes to essentials that you don't have a choice but to pay (water, medicine, housing, food) the market can be dangerous. Telling someone that their life saving cancer treatment comes to 500k isn't far from putting a gun to their head and saying "gimme 500k or you're dead". It's why I support ideas like the British NHS (it's not perfect but it's free), zero water charges for homes (paid through income tax, with surcharges for heavy usage like swimming pools).

kortilla 2y ago
> housing, food) the market can be dangerous Housing and food are free market because they are easy to get substitutes for in most of the western world (move to a different neighborhood, buy different food). Those two categories don’t really belong with water and healthcare. The barrier to entry to provide tap water or provide healthcare is very high.
- raffraffraff 2y ago
  Housing in Ireland isn't a free market. We have had a chronic shortage of housing for decades, but the influx of asylum seekers has put more pressure on it. Renters stand in lines half a mile long to view a grotty shoe-box that costs more than a mortgage. But yeah, maybe in other places it's different. Yes, food is a free market right now, and in addition, it's subsidised (well, production is). Wait 20 years though, if climate change driven storms and floods destroy whole crops, that could change things dramatically.
- jjav 2y ago
  > food are free market because they are easy to get substitutes for in most of the western world (move to a different neighborhood, buy different food) In the US, a very small number of corporations own nearly all the supermarkets. You can move all you want, it is the same stores (possibly under different brand name, but same ownership).
  - ivewonyoung 2y ago
    Grocery stores have thin margins because they have competition or threat of it.
  - kortilla 2y ago
    Don’t go to a supermarket then? Use farmers markets, local butchers, and local coops if you don’t like supermarkets.
- relaxing 2y ago
  You might be surprised how hard “move to another neighborhood” can be for some.
throwaway48476 2y ago
The closest analog for a market of essential services is the kidnapping for ransom market.

kortilla 2y ago

> housing, food) the market can be dangerous Housing and food are free market because they are easy to get substitutes for in most of the western world (move to a different neighborhood, buy different food). Those two categories don’t really belong with water and healthcare. The barrier to entry to provide tap water or provide healthcare is very high.

raffraffraff 2y ago
Housing in Ireland isn't a free market. We have had a chronic shortage of housing for decades, but the influx of asylum seekers has put more pressure on it. Renters stand in lines half a mile long to view a grotty shoe-box that costs more than a mortgage. But yeah, maybe in other places it's different. Yes, food is a free market right now, and in addition, it's subsidised (well, production is). Wait 20 years though, if climate change driven storms and floods destroy whole crops, that could change things dramatically.
jjav 2y ago
> food are free market because they are easy to get substitutes for in most of the western world (move to a different neighborhood, buy different food) In the US, a very small number of corporations own nearly all the supermarkets. You can move all you want, it is the same stores (possibly under different brand name, but same ownership).
- ivewonyoung 2y ago
  Grocery stores have thin margins because they have competition or threat of it.
- kortilla 2y ago
  Don’t go to a supermarket then? Use farmers markets, local butchers, and local coops if you don’t like supermarkets.
relaxing 2y ago
You might be surprised how hard “move to another neighborhood” can be for some.

throwaway48476 2y ago

The closest analog for a market of essential services is the kidnapping for ransom market.