Have you heard of the Treadmill of Destruction?

[OddBeMe]

It’s an interesting philosophy that we’re on a path to destruction too complex to fix.

1-Take healthcare. Hospitals charge outlandishly because insurance pays for it.
2-Insurance pays for it because we pay billions in premiums not to go bankrupt if we get sick.
3- Hospitals need to charge outlandishly because their funding from the govt keeps getting slashed.
4- it keeps getting slashed because Americans are having trouble paying taxes because they’re gutted by other bills like health insurance.
5- Americans are angry at going broke to so they keep voting for less govt spending and less taxes.
6- thus hospitals get less funding.

You could do this with lots of things. Environment is mostly associated with this. But college loans are just like the above cycle. And Globalized jobs (which isn’t a big deal, it’s just made one)…

[goaded]

"Hospitals charge outlandishly because insurance pays for it."

Exactly. And insurance pays for it because they take a percentage. If they spend more of their customers' money, they "earn" more money.

The German system is surprisingly similar to the US system, except prices are better regulated. e. g. https://bcht.berkeley.edu/drug-assessment-and-pricing-germany

[OddBeMe]

But our voters won’t vote for more regulation because they’re getting screwed by insurance. It’s maddening treadmill…

[Anonymous]

It's like here in the uk. The government gives the NHS money and they give that same money to the private sector of medicine who charge extortionate prices because they know they can. Going private in the UK doesn't mean better care, it means seeing a doctor or surgeon sooner. The same doctor or surgeon actually works for the NHS half the time and the rest of the time is a private consultant.

[OddBeMe]

Wish I could compare a hospital bill from UK to US. Seriously, like $400 for a needle.

[dustybiker]

Yeah. I can’t even touch this one today it pisses me off too much.

[jshm2]

Yeah, it's bullshit though. Hence why it isn't more widely adopted or accepted.

[OddBeMe]

It’s a philosophical argument, so it’s opinion. Not sure what you mean by “adopted”. Turned into a religion?