It still doesnt have an explenation for what started this feedback loop.

What increased the salt content around antarctica in the first place... if it is indeed saltier at all.

I have spent a fair bit of time in the USA and can compare with Canada.

Firstly, in Canada the service is different in each province, some are worse like Quebec.
Same goes for the USA. Depending on the State you live in, you will get different results.

I agree, there is bureaucratic rot in the USA as well. The cross state insurance issue is a big problem as well that is protectionist instead of being helpful to the people.

I agree with your last statement.

But there are very few private healthcare services in Quebec and the governement is pushing to shut them down and make everything public which would be a big mistake.

By which I mean:

- Emergency wait times can be 12 to 14 hours
- Someone with a collapsing lung issue (hapened 16 times in his life, now 42yo) finaly had the operation promised 4 years ago
- Half of people in Quebec dont have a doctor for yearly visits
- GF had whooping cough, wasnt diagnosed properly, put in for asthma tests, got a call a YEAR later (no longer necessary)
- Etc...

Its "free", yet costs costs half of the governements spending 65 billion (in Quebec).

To be fair, there are different results per province, but in Quebec at the moment, the service is horrible.

Like most of Europe, that is what i mean by including private.

The State stills acts as the only insurer, bit private labs and hospitals exist and are paid by the insurer.

It breeds competitive efficacy while keeping a lid/control on the private sector at the same time.

But then you would get bureaucratic creep and ineficient services.

I'm in Canada. Our service is horrible here.

Don't get me wrong, there is lots to improve in the USA for sure. The for profit system is not 100% to blame for high costs. But I agree some thing could and should be changed. Pharma Advertising should be banned for 1. It only serves to control the media.

Much of Europe has a public / private health system. Single payer, but services are given by both the private sector (for profit) and public (not for profit).
This keeps things efficient and competitive, helping to slow or reduce the bureaucratic creep in the health system.

The US system does not some gard rails for sure. But throwing the whole of the prive portion of health care out wouldnt be the right solution IMO.

Never have I said or thought we should stop pharmaceutical research.

However, they should all be subject to rigorous double blind placebo RCTs.

Don't you think?

Unless you want them to push snake oil on us?!?

Its ok.

You clearly have an emotion you are trying to justify without wanting to understand reality.
Have a good day... we are going in circles here.

During that same time, most if not all construction project and investements where stopped.

If your avg profit margin is 3% but you spend half a billion one year, and don't the next year... what happens to your profit margin?

Exactly, it goes up.

I am not saying that is the only reason... its just quite easy and simple to follow the media narrative that Grocery Corporations bad... instead of understanding what is actually going on behind the scenes in business operations.

P.s. You do know pension funds and retail (individual) investors hold stocks right? This is what allows them to pay out pensions or save for retirement.

Its not as simple as corporation bad. Many people depend on the economy to function and corporations to maintain their profit margins so they can live. Not just evil CEOs.

At the end of the day, the problem here is the money. Its broken. Governements and central banks should not have control of the money and the capacity to increase "print" more of it. This is what causes price increases longterm and what screws everyone.

Thats a nice narrative you have there.
Its very convenient for the pharmaceutical industry.

What sky rocketing profits?

As stated their profit margins are barely increasing. Nominal dollar amounts go up but those dollars buy less due to all price increases.

Electricity has gone up, some grocers pat rent, those that own have repairs to do which coat more, they pay more in property taxes, insurance has skyrocketed and wages are most definitely up.

You seem to have a very narrow understanding of business, economics and costs of operations.

Do you have any other questions, maybe i can help you understand more.

https://ancillary-proxy.atarimworker.io?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bls.gov%2Fcharts%2Femp...

If they tripled prices and their costs didnt go up, their operating margins would have tripled.

I'm not making excuses, you simply do not understand how monetary inflation functions or how business operates.

Cost increases happen across the supply chain.
Labor costs
Rent
Building maintenance
Fixed costs like electricity
This costs increase for the farmer, the factory that transforms the product, the distributor and finaly the grocer.

The grocer ALSO has labor cost increases, rent, maintenance, and other fixed costs increases.

Business work on operating margins takes into account all expenses and profits.

Each product can go up at different rates. Some not at all, some triple and some double. The grocer has to keep his selling margin the same.
At the end of the day, tally all costs of operating and supplies and sales income and you get the operating margins.

No matter what you think, there margins are thin and barely going up.

If a certain product, like beef has double, its not because the grocer is pocketing the difference. And if his margin has gone up slightly higher than the product costs increase, its most likely because somewhere else in his operating costs something went up he has to compensate for. Rent for example, or electricity.

At the end of the day, operating margins as public for large corporations and tell the story if they are gouging customers and they clearly are not.

There are other reasons for food or animal products price increases though. For example the government mandating the slaughter of perfectly healthy chickens because of a few bird flu cases: https://ancillary-proxy.atarimworker.io?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.wsj.com%2Fopinion%2Fwh...

Grocerie store operating margins are one of the thinnest in the market. 3-5% per year.

The numbers seem massive because there is allot of products being sold, but as a business, its very thin.

End of year opearting margins are dependent on real estate investements that year, new land bought, store refresh, etc... Some years have massive negative growth and some higher. But on average its pretty steady.

Loblaws one of the largest grocery chains in Canada closed 2024 at 5%.

https://ancillary-proxy.atarimworker.io?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcompaniesmarketcap.com...

You are scared of requirements for robust trials.
You are the one arguing from anecdotal evidence.

Why do you want drugs, treatments or vaccines being licensed without proper placebo RCTs??

You might have read that, but it would be wrong and its source either being unknowlegable of monetary economics and/or lying about it.

The M2 monetary global liquidity has increased by 38% since February 2020 (see linked chart below). It went up massively during covid when pretty much all governements "printed" and distributed money to everyone to keep the economy they where destroying affloat.

That money eventually found itself into retail and other areas and rose inflation. Most if not all companies profit margins are steady. Which means, input costs have risen.

Your 70% number comes from where? Id be interested in analysing its source.

https://ancillary-proxy.atarimworker.io?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstreetstats.finance%2Fli...