Contrary to myth, businesses can't just set prices at whatever level they want. "Greedy" capitalists can ask for higher prices, but prices mean little if people are unable or unwilling to pay them.
It is easy to think of supply and demand curves as being key to economic analysis. In reality, they can't tell us much, and emphasizing them actually stands in the way of better understanding economic processes.
The absence of market discipline in medicine cannot last. Governments and the medical cartel have successfully used fear to maintain control. Fear has kept the masses from rising up. Until now.
While economists and journalists are fond of saying inflation is "X" percent, in reality, the price indexes don't measure inflation accurately. Instead, they are statistical constructs created to benefit the government.
While government officials and politicians denounce high drug prices, they have created monopoly privileges for drug firms, thus ensuring higher-than-competitive prices for pharmaceuticals.
People often react to sudden price changes by demanding that government "do something" to bring prices down. It is important to understand the mentality behind such beliefs.
