> If my choice is to pay for cancer treatment or die, you can (and do) charge me literally whatever you want in a capitalist system
One provider might charge a fortune. But then another will come along and realize he can get all this business by charging slightly less than a fortune. Then another comes along and charges slightly less. And so on until they are charging just enough to make a slight profit.
That’s how a healthy market works. But if you put up tons of barriers and rules about who can provide a service and how the service must be performed, the whole competitive system breaks down.
Might I suggest perusing the Farm Bill? The government is literally paying farmers to grow crops people wouldn’t pay for. That doesn’t sound like a very free market system... frankly I wish they’d stop.
That's to insure we aren't undersupplied on food and famines caused by a bad season/trade with another country are absolutely terrible. Seems like a cheap insurance for a terrible possible outcome especially considering that any consistent oversupply from the subsidies will get weeded out due to the subsidies.
Would you prefer a shortage of food every few years?
That hardly supports your argument that it’s a free market, and that’s the point I was making. The rest was an aside. I don’t know there’s evidence that not subsidizing corn (the vast majority isn’t for human consumption anyways) to below the cost of production is the only way you ensure lack of famine. Either way I’m not sure why this socialism is okay but medicine is beyond the pail.
For instance grain crops can be stored long-term by the government [1] and of course so can raisins [2]. None of this has to do with the farm bill.
One provider might charge a fortune. But then another will come along and realize he can get all this business by charging slightly less than a fortune. Then another comes along and charges slightly less. And so on until they are charging just enough to make a slight profit.
That’s how a healthy market works. But if you put up tons of barriers and rules about who can provide a service and how the service must be performed, the whole competitive system breaks down.