It's official - Denmark is raising taxes on saturated fat page 3

[js290]

Healthcare in the US is extremely expensive because of government involvement.

It's expensive partly because the industry has become a cartel and partly because of inflation.

[Grok]

It's expensive partly because the industry has become a cartel and partly because of inflation.

Nah that's BS. No cartel in a free market ever survives without government involvement. There is always a member of the cartel who cheats or new competition coming in from outside the cartel.

Sure I guess inflation plays some role, but there wasn't enough inflation to bring the price of computers and cell phones sky-rocketing upwards. Why does all the price inflation go to healthcare and tuition costs? The answer is government involvement.

[js290]

Nah that's BS. No cartel in a free market ever survives without government involvement. There is always a member of the cartel who cheats or new competition coming in from outside the cartel.

A cartel usually implies coercion. Who's more coercive than the govt?

Sure I guess inflation plays some role, but there wasn't enough inflation to bring the price of computers and cell phones sky-rocketing upwards. Why does all the price inflation go to healthcare and tuition costs? The answer is government involvement.

Chris Masterjohn's argument:

Technology is the one sector of the economy where the productivity increases so rapidly that this increase outpaces the increase in the money supply. Thus, prices go down over time instead of up, while new and better products constantly bump older ones out of the market.

When it comes to technology, prices go down over time and the wealth "trickles down" to most of us. When it comes to food or virtually any other commodity, prices go up and the big financial institutions swallow up the little guys.

[Grok]

What you think there has been no new technology in the healthcare industry? We constantly get newer more sophisticated equipment which would normally drive the price of healthcare down, but because of government involvement, prices continue to rise.

[Grok]

A cartel usually implies coercion. Who's more coercive than the govt?

Right, like I said, no cartel can survive unless government makes a law to force it. Hence, if there exists a healthcare cartel, the reason is government involvement.

[Legbiter]

To be fair the danes tax sugar similarly but this will do nothing to reverse the universal fattening and bad health.

[Legbiter]

That is what happens when you have a universal socialist heathcare system funded by tax payers...

I'm glad you found time from your busy schedule to make a domestic political point.

[Grok]

I'm glad you found time from your busy schedule to make a domestic political point.

I'm not busy. I understand that Iceland also has a socialist government provided healthcare system.

[DarthFriendly]

I'm not busy.\

Why do we have to support nonproducers like yourself.

You are a parasite.

Society cannot afford you.

[Grok]

Why do we have to support nonproducers like yourself.

You are a parasite.

Society cannot afford you.

I'm investing my hard-earned savings into profitable corporations which grow my wealth. (In other words, companies in China.) Society needs me because I am redirecting capital where it can be put to optimal use.