He can't say I have enough points I don't need anymore. Use my high points as a reason to trust me that I will make less points than others if you shop here.
I also spend all of my time and energy trying to get more points.
>The beauty of capitalism is that the effort of the latter end up benefiting us all.
There are countless examples of that not being the case. At best, it benefits some other people most of the time and, arguably most people only some of the time.
Keep in mind that all of the current issues with US healthcare are also caused by individuals trying to maximize their personal dollars - at the expense of the general public.
When has the US had a Capitalist market for healthcare?
The US has a particularly horrible hyper regulated, government shielded, cartel-based healthcare system and has for decades - the time during which its healthcare costs have skyrocketed out of control.
The US could hardly be further away from Capitalism in how its healthcare system is structured.
If you really think dropping regulations and making it a free for all for multi-billion dollar corporations to fiddle with our health would improve anything, you're simply lying lol
Countries with more regulation and more control by the state have... prices that are a fraction of the US. Surprise. Just like countries with stricter environmental restrictions have fewer clear-cut forests, less polluted water, etc. Unbridled capitalism means more money at the top at the cost of everyone else. There's a balance to be found between making money and having some restraints.
Having government regulations doesn't make something not capitalist. Capitalism is defined by an economic system where you can profit off of simply owning Capital (i.e. the means of production) without having to work it.
Per Wikipedia:
> Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, price system, private property, property rights recognition, voluntary exchange, and wage labor.
All of these things are true of the US healthcare market.
I mean, you said the government not stepping in is the problem, and the source of that problem is money...
That's just what capitalism is. There is no ideal world where people max out their earnings and say "haha i'll be a friendly competitor and work for the benefit of the people :))))". People with vested interests will always push for less regulation, and the consequence of a successful push is never "everyone is better off and paying less!" Other developed countries have more regulation and lower prices. That's simply a fact.
> "But I won't. I've got enough money. I'd rather f— up the drug industry in every way possible."
I like that sentiment!
I also like it's coming from a capitalist VC, with a profit incentive!
And I love I won't have to bother with insurance and stuff: yes, I could save $5 here and there, but no, I don't really care, and I'm not sure it's worth dealing with the insurance company who'll gather the information and look for various creative ways to compile and use the information against their clients (say, if you take tobacco cessation drugs, birth control, etc)
Yes, I know there are various laws on the books that in theory protect patients against that, but as we've seen with the consequences for say Experian data leaks, the reputational risk for Cuban himself look like a much stronger incentive that for say, Walmart or Costco or whatever company doesn't bear the investor name.
> "People always ask, well why didn't somebody do this before? The reality is there's so much money there, it's hard not to be greedy," Mr. Cuban said
> "But I won't. I've got enough money. I'd rather f— up the drug industry in every way possible."