The problem with writing about Elon Musk is that he's effectively above the law, and it's hard to convey that in a way that people will accept.

"The profit surge in the first phase of the COVID recovery only confirms the stark imbalance of our social conditions." - @adam_tooze  So apparently profits and inflation are related!

It's not just formula, it's every single market with a power buyer who consolidates the market with rebate schemes, and a slow regulator with a bias towards incumbents. The FDA has a handy list of drugs that are in shortage because of this *exact* dynamic.

It would probably also help if we broke apart conglomerates like Abbott Labs, which seems to be more of a mergers and acquisitions shop than anything else. If you making a critical good you don't get to be a Wall Street holding company.

Not to get all rant-y, but doctors are screaming about the medical dye shortage preventing hospital imaging. And drugs are in perpetual shortage. And baby formula is in shortage. Maybe these are all connected?

The entire WIC buying scheme needs to be redone so it doesn't consolidate supply. The USDA can issue waivers to states who can then implement, but that all takes time. How about not screwing it all up in the first place?

Nurses wore garbage bags during the early part of the pandemic, we faced saline solution shortages after hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico. THIS CRISIS IS SYSTEMIC. IT'S A FUCKING MONOPOLY PROBLEM. THAT'S WHY IT KEEPS HAPPENING.

"US business groups have accused their government of undermining Taiwan’s defenses by only approving the sale of weapons it believes would be essential for the democratic country to resist a full Chinese invasion."

Here, I wrote the medical shortage monopoly problem up in September of 2021.

The Democratic plan is usually some variant of ‘fill out forms’