There’s a lot of valid criticism on our healthcare system, but every time I see little snarky posts like this I wonder how long you have to wait if you’re poor people in the US.
There’s differences in wait time by economic status in lots of countries, also in countries with public healthcare including places like Norway and Sweden. The difference in the US is the bill you get at the end.
I agree. But I also think that's because most Canadians are so incredibly out-of-touch with the rest of the world they don't realise how privileged they are in general, and how annoying most of their complaints are from an outsider perspective.
I dunno, it's not so bad here. My friend's sister is in really bad shape and almost died. One of her lungs just stopped working. In less then two days they put through approval for her to get a special medication that costs $300K a year and she is off to a specialist in Vancouver to help her.
It is costing them nothing. It's all covered by our government. No medical debt for life for her or her family to inherit.
Now, I don't know what the medication is and I still think it is utterly ridiculous that it would cost that much, but if we didn't have universal health care she would be dead. There is no way my friends family could pay for that.
I buy generic fluticasone nasal spray for allergies. Flonase is the name brand.
Generic has always been $8-12/bottle. Went to Walgreens yesterday, $38.99.
How is that even legal?
It's been made expensive keep people out and those who aren't privileged to be shackled by debt. Debt makes people more desperate and likely to accept bad employment terms.
Seriously, instead of spending like 50k a year for US colleges spend the same money to move to Europe for a few years and study there, i studied aerospace engineering in Italy and my tuition was like 1.4k per year
I had one textbook cost $350. You couldn’t buy used because you needed the online key.
I got a part time job at the university bookstore for the employee discount and first dibs on used books…
Funnily enough it started rising dramatically after government moved in and started offering guarantees, after which tuitions could be increased as there’s a guarantee behind the payment anyway
In the US we should make all public and community institutions public funded, for undergraduate degrees for people under 25, and let private institutions continue to charge whatever they deem needed to “compete”. This works for K-12 and could easily extend. There are plenty of courses that easily fit an online model where courses are rated leading to a best of breed engaging and productive experience.
it's free in my country as well, I don't view it as a good thing because our facilities and machines are nonexistent or terrible. wish we paid, at least my degree would matter and I would have experience, be able to do my job. the government doesn't care about public education...
Even with insurance. They do everything they can to reject any claim and not cover anything since the policy was intentionally written as gray as possible in a way that benefits them.
100%. Love how my insurance clearly said they cover dental fillings...if they are metal. American dentists haven't used metal fillings since the late 90s.
And their reasoning is only because nobody wants them! Metal fillings cause your teeth to crack over time, so an insurance company should want you to get the non-metal ones so they're not paying for root canals and crowns for the rest of your life--but they'd just rather not pay in the short term and know nobody if going to get metal installed in their mouth if they don't have to.
If you haven't seen the Simpsons episode "Last Exit to Springfield", you should watch it. It's one of the best in the whole series--a lot of fans say it's THE best--and they skewer the dental insurance industry once or twice.
This is where a co-op would work over insurance. The co-op puts up the money to pay your bill and you pay it back. The insurance companies don't want you to have that access so they are trying to block you from doing it.
there was an imaging company in town. I had people waiting years YEARS for back mris to be approved through either IHS or their insurance thinking hospitals and their charges were the only option. I told them about this place they then spent $350 dollars and had an mri done that day.
I was just having this conversation with someone else. "Health insurance" is not insurance at all. Our current system has all the disadvantages of a co-op with almost none of the advantages. Insurance is a hedge against risk. Not only does our current system require you to buy a product it also limits what the seller can sell you.
100% this. maybe it's the fact that i'm canadian and so our healthcare costs are mostly socialized and secondary education is relatively affordable, but also unlike the US our housing bubble never collapsed in 2008, it just kept rising and so we have some of the most incredibly out of control housing costs in the world
>i'm canadian
I have a Canadian friend as well and i was flabbergasted at the cost of your housing in Canada (this was years before the current housing crisis).
How the fuck does ANYONE in Canada afford a house?
Exactly! And rental prices are so ridiculous that it becomes difficult for someone with an avarage income to save up enough for anything more expensive…
We should not allow Blackrock, Vanguard or Amazon to buy homes and rent them. They are going to crash the economy. If there’s no way to own a house why do anything? This part is going to end badly
If you're rich you just don't look at the price, it's not that they think it's good. If you showed a rich person the price increases over a period of time, they'd not think it was good. Rich people don't like being ripped off any more than poor people do, they just don't get crippled by it.
Depends on the rich person. If they are rich because they own a chain of grocery stores for example, they probably think things are pretty well priced right now.
It's all a matter of time value of money. Someone well educated and well connected will be able to find lots of good ways to turn their time and effort into significant money. Coupons to save a few dollars a day would make no sense.
But someone with no connections and minimal education will have trouble finding opportunities so a few extra dollars will be like a whole hour of work or more.
Saw someone post a hash brown at McDonald’s is now $3.50 somewhere. i remember when you could get a meal for $3. Im not even 30 yet. idk if it made me feel old or just how crazy expensive things are.
Yes! The cheapest eye exam and prescription I’ve been able to find as a walk in client without insurance is around $80. Does Zenni require a scanned physical copy of a prescription? That’s been my experience ordering frames online like this
I tried ordering glasses online and they wanted some measurement about the distance between the eyes? It wasn't included in the script and when I asked my eye dr about it, he said the measurement depended on the pair of glasses, and wouldn't be able to provide that ... Then went on a little rant about online shops ruining his business 😕
Agree with the person saying Zenni. Currently wearing zenni glasses that I got next day shipping because my expensive old ones broke and will never buy from an eye doctor again lol they cost me $60 INCLUDING next day shipping. Also if you know your prescription you just enter it, no need to verify
Used cars.
My daughter just bought her first. $8000 for a 20 year old car. Fucking absurd. It's a Honda so hopefully it'll at least go the distance for that price.
Yeah it's wild nowadays. When I was a teen I remember if you had 5k, you could get yourself a really, really nice car. . Back then you could honestly search the market and get decent cars for 2k or less. Now you're lucky if 5k gets you a shitbox that may turn over without any prior work
Granted the market is "coming down" recently. That said cars are genuinely not affordable for a vast amount of Americans, who simultaneously rely on them for transportation. It's like a fucked up system, either pay to have a life, or don't get a car but be unable to work, go to the store, etc. Cars keep people poor when there's no alternative forms of transport.
That was one of three things that destroyed the used car market. The other two:
1. New cars becoming unaffordable for the majority of Americans means both less supply of used cars and the ones that do enter the market cost more.
2 Covid shutdowns and now manufacturer's production slowdowns reduced the supply of new cars causing people to have to either keep their car longer or buy a used car instead. Also stimulus checks meant that people who had cars that needed to be replaced finally had the means to do it.
I went to Azerbaijan a couple of years ago. Was astounded at all the toyota prius' they had. Guy who was working at the dock said during covid the US rental car companies and dealerships just had tons of cars sitting around, so they put them on ships and sold them to Eastern European countries.
Now the US has no old car inventory like they've had in previous years, so the price has gone up astronomically.
Period products, toothpaste. If you want soap you have so many options, cheaper ones and more expensive ones, I feel that since the inflation none of them are cheap and they are basic neccesities
Toiletries in general. Every time I need something I’m always shocked with the price… I needed body wash the other day and even the cheap Irish spring stuff was $5 a bottle.
Been using a reusable menstrual cup for probably a decade. HIGHLY recommended.
one time purchase, no waste, no damp string, and can be worn much longer befor needing to be emptied.
Feminine hygiene products should be paid for by the government or at least incredibly affordable. Charging me that much money to cater to something I can’t control just isn’t right.
Source - my uterus
I’m a dual citizen and that makes total sense to me. It’s so much cheaper like €30 for insulin… there’s a 1000% markup in USA because well big Pharma 🤦🏻♀️
Not big pharma, just the PBM’s
I work for one of the major insulin producers, and we WANT to sell it cheaper, but in order for PBM’s to get their rebates, which makes them put our product on their list of prescription drugs available, we have to pump up the list price.
So a product that maybe should cost $100 ends up costing $1000 so we can give the PBM’s 90% rebate…
This move in the end, makes the product end up in the most patients hands (through prescriptions), this is the option we went for…
If PBM’s were taken out of the equation the price would go WAY down…
Obgyn MD here:
Absolutely. Things to consider to help -
Medicaid based insurances cover almost all contraceptives nearly 100%. When pharmaceutical conspiracies introduce new meds, they try to get Medicaid approval almost first and foremost because the private insurance companies frequently follow what Medicaid covers.
If you are on a pill/patch/ring - check with the company to look for coupons or search your area for “specialty pharmacies” or privately owned pharmacies that are usually much much much better about coupons and discount codes.
GoodRx now has an online pharmacy with great prices on a lot of specialty medications that may not be covered elsewhere: ex Nextstellis birth control pill that uses a newer generation of estrogen with decreased risk of blood clots or decreasing libido or the Annovera ring - a Nuvaring that can stay in for one whole year with slightly higher hormone dose - great for endometriosis patients that got okay pain relief with Nuvaring but want some further increased effect.
But actually also pushing them out too. A friend told me what they paid for their recent newborn and I did my best not to grimace as I compared it to my bill from 10 years ago. I get insurances vary in the US, but it seems to me child birth is yet another thing added to the list that health insurance companies want you to pay more for. Any yet some people still don't understand why birth rates are declining...
I don’t know why I got downvoted in a previous post I made about a birthday party. But I basically said how I was surprised how much birthday parties are for kids. They wanted $30 A KID at a local bounce house type place.
I just think that’s crazy
And probably an advanced carbon 14 dating, considering diamonds would be older 🤷♂️
But I’m by no means an expert so I could be wrong. 😅
- and if you have to go that far to tell the difference can you really justify paying a lot more? 🥸 I know I wouldn’t, but I’m not exactly part of the clientele anyways.
Existing without even buying anything. Bills just keep magically appearing. Insurance is unaffordable. Everything has hidden taxes and fees. I’m not even having fun!!!! We need to stop procreating because what’s the point if your whole life is just paying additional fees and stuff you don’t even want
Well, kiddos, let me tell ya, printer ink! It's like squeezing gold outta a unicorn's mane. You'd think it's just a bit of colored goo, but nope, it costs more than a week's worth of ice cream! And don't even get me started on how fast it runs out. It's like those ink cartridges have a secret jet pack to zoom away when you need 'em most. Crazy, right?
Basic necessities. Food, OTC meds, period products, toilet paper, gas, used cars. Basically anything that people who earn under the poverty level need to live. Yes everyone needs that stuff, but the hourly employees that this country runs on can’t fucking buy them.
Oh yeah, and housing.
Fixing anything in a house. Oh you have a leaky pipe and just need to replace a single section? That'll be 4k please. Oh you need to replace a single window? That'll be 10k please. I'm becoming a more handy person after buying my first home because the contractors will literally bankrupt you, while not bring available for 8 months to fix an emergency situation and then canceling on you last minute if they even bother to tell you they arent showing up.
I remember filling up for just over $0.60 a liter. It was March of 2020. I wish we could have those prices back. Hell, I wish we were at a dollar a liter.
I've noticed that pop/soda/soft drinks have been going up dramatically over the past two years. Unless you buy in bulk or wait for the rare good sale at your grocery store, you're not getting good value for dollar.
Several friends of mine are US expats, so I’ve heard all about the problems Europe is facing.
I think I’ll stay in the US and keep fighting for those things here.
Electricity. Over the past year or two our Electricity suppliers in Ireland kept raising the price of it based on oil prices and inflation. Both of them have cone down and the wholesale price of Electricity has fallen nearly 70% from its high. The energy providers haven't dropped their prices to match this reduction AND they boast that (get this) nearly half of our energy wind power. If we're getting half of our power from wind and the other half from 70% cheaper oil or gas, why is the price still one of the highest in Europe. Also, our main provider just announced profits of nearly 1billion euro. We're being robbed.
Diamonds.
They really aren't rare at all the only thing that makes them expensive is the Company that owns almost every Diamond mine and they artificially keep the supply low.
Health care. Insurance is the biggest scam on people. Prices are so inflated to make you think you are getting a bargain when insurance "covers" x amount and you have to pay y amount. Only in America.
Medicine!!
I'd say 'laughs in Canadian' but I died 6 months ago waiting in the emergency room and they haven't removed my body yet due to short staffing.
Sorry for your lo...waitaminit.
There’s a lot of valid criticism on our healthcare system, but every time I see little snarky posts like this I wonder how long you have to wait if you’re poor people in the US.
Generally till after you’ve had a heart attack or stroke or something like that
There’s differences in wait time by economic status in lots of countries, also in countries with public healthcare including places like Norway and Sweden. The difference in the US is the bill you get at the end.
I agree. But I also think that's because most Canadians are so incredibly out-of-touch with the rest of the world they don't realise how privileged they are in general, and how annoying most of their complaints are from an outsider perspective.
I dunno, it's not so bad here. My friend's sister is in really bad shape and almost died. One of her lungs just stopped working. In less then two days they put through approval for her to get a special medication that costs $300K a year and she is off to a specialist in Vancouver to help her. It is costing them nothing. It's all covered by our government. No medical debt for life for her or her family to inherit. Now, I don't know what the medication is and I still think it is utterly ridiculous that it would cost that much, but if we didn't have universal health care she would be dead. There is no way my friends family could pay for that.
It all evens out when you consider the cost of housing in Canada.
I'd rather wait a bit than lose my house when I get sick though
I buy generic fluticasone nasal spray for allergies. Flonase is the name brand. Generic has always been $8-12/bottle. Went to Walgreens yesterday, $38.99. How is that even legal?
I had to stop taking one of my psych meds because my insurance decided to deny it. The copay was supposed to be $240 for a month
Have you checked GoodRX? It could be cheaper on there. And pharmacies have to honor those prices.
Yeah I did check with GoodRx. Even with it, it would have been around $190 which is better but still not doable in my situation
College
Indeed, not sure how anyone thinks that putting a high monetary requirement on educating people is a good idea for civilization at all.
> good idea for civilization For civilization? Not at all. For somebody's wallet? Fuck yes!
It's been made expensive keep people out and those who aren't privileged to be shackled by debt. Debt makes people more desperate and likely to accept bad employment terms.
I don’t think our politicians really give a shit about the good of civilization or having an educated populous.
Seriously, instead of spending like 50k a year for US colleges spend the same money to move to Europe for a few years and study there, i studied aerospace engineering in Italy and my tuition was like 1.4k per year
Do you need to speak fluent Italian? I can gesture with my hands emphatically and say things like “Pizza” and “Consigliere” but that’s about it.
You can find a lot of engineering degrees in Europe that are taught in English
depends. do you want your major in italian?
In germany, university costs like $800
Yup that's just one of my classes at the local community college.
I had one textbook cost $350. You couldn’t buy used because you needed the online key. I got a part time job at the university bookstore for the employee discount and first dibs on used books…
Funnily enough it started rising dramatically after government moved in and started offering guarantees, after which tuitions could be increased as there’s a guarantee behind the payment anyway
Thank you! I’ve been saying this for years now.
It's still free where I am. It should be free everywhere.
In the US we should make all public and community institutions public funded, for undergraduate degrees for people under 25, and let private institutions continue to charge whatever they deem needed to “compete”. This works for K-12 and could easily extend. There are plenty of courses that easily fit an online model where courses are rated leading to a best of breed engaging and productive experience.
it's free in my country as well, I don't view it as a good thing because our facilities and machines are nonexistent or terrible. wish we paid, at least my degree would matter and I would have experience, be able to do my job. the government doesn't care about public education...
Healthcare insurance
Just insurance in general. They force you to have it and then let insurance companies completely take advantage of you.
Healthcare if you don’t have insurance.
Even with insurance. They do everything they can to reject any claim and not cover anything since the policy was intentionally written as gray as possible in a way that benefits them.
100%. Love how my insurance clearly said they cover dental fillings...if they are metal. American dentists haven't used metal fillings since the late 90s.
And their reasoning is only because nobody wants them! Metal fillings cause your teeth to crack over time, so an insurance company should want you to get the non-metal ones so they're not paying for root canals and crowns for the rest of your life--but they'd just rather not pay in the short term and know nobody if going to get metal installed in their mouth if they don't have to. If you haven't seen the Simpsons episode "Last Exit to Springfield", you should watch it. It's one of the best in the whole series--a lot of fans say it's THE best--and they skewer the dental insurance industry once or twice.
Interestingly, health care can be much cheaper if you pay cash. A fact that our current oligopoly does not want you to think about.
But I don’t have cash
This is where a co-op would work over insurance. The co-op puts up the money to pay your bill and you pay it back. The insurance companies don't want you to have that access so they are trying to block you from doing it.
there was an imaging company in town. I had people waiting years YEARS for back mris to be approved through either IHS or their insurance thinking hospitals and their charges were the only option. I told them about this place they then spent $350 dollars and had an mri done that day.
I was just having this conversation with someone else. "Health insurance" is not insurance at all. Our current system has all the disadvantages of a co-op with almost none of the advantages. Insurance is a hedge against risk. Not only does our current system require you to buy a product it also limits what the seller can sell you.
Healthcare too
Housing
100% this. maybe it's the fact that i'm canadian and so our healthcare costs are mostly socialized and secondary education is relatively affordable, but also unlike the US our housing bubble never collapsed in 2008, it just kept rising and so we have some of the most incredibly out of control housing costs in the world
>i'm canadian I have a Canadian friend as well and i was flabbergasted at the cost of your housing in Canada (this was years before the current housing crisis). How the fuck does ANYONE in Canada afford a house?
Basically just buy it 20+ years ago and you're good!
The best strategy I have seen is being born into a wealthy family that is willing to give you at least 250k plus
Hayo! Single income trying to afford a home (or even just rent, really) in Ottawa and I came here for this comment.
When the average family income isn't enough to buy the average house, something is wrong.
Exactly! And rental prices are so ridiculous that it becomes difficult for someone with an avarage income to save up enough for anything more expensive…
We should not allow Blackrock, Vanguard or Amazon to buy homes and rent them. They are going to crash the economy. If there’s no way to own a house why do anything? This part is going to end badly
Everything.
*gestures vaguely at everything * I mean unless you are rich. Then things are looking pretty good
AND if you’re FAMOUS and rich, you get things for free. What gives?!
If you're rich you just don't look at the price, it's not that they think it's good. If you showed a rich person the price increases over a period of time, they'd not think it was good. Rich people don't like being ripped off any more than poor people do, they just don't get crippled by it.
Depends on the rich person. If they are rich because they own a chain of grocery stores for example, they probably think things are pretty well priced right now.
prices matter to rich people how do you think they became rich
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It's all a matter of time value of money. Someone well educated and well connected will be able to find lots of good ways to turn their time and effort into significant money. Coupons to save a few dollars a day would make no sense. But someone with no connections and minimal education will have trouble finding opportunities so a few extra dollars will be like a whole hour of work or more.
This should be the top comment. Every single thing
I definitely second this
“The rent is too damn high” meme needs to be updated to “everything is too damn high”
This. Why are the basics even so much money
I plan to start charities and labour movements to make basic necessities very cheap. Give me a few years.
Lies I say
Oligarchies. That’s why.
Saw someone post a hash brown at McDonald’s is now $3.50 somewhere. i remember when you could get a meal for $3. Im not even 30 yet. idk if it made me feel old or just how crazy expensive things are.
Ya, it would probably be quicker just to list things that are appropriately priced. In which case… I don’t know, pipe cleaners?
Life in general
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Only exception is the Costco hotdog
Glasses.
If you know your prescription and everything you can get real, good glasses for like $30 off zenni. Changed my life
Yes! The cheapest eye exam and prescription I’ve been able to find as a walk in client without insurance is around $80. Does Zenni require a scanned physical copy of a prescription? That’s been my experience ordering frames online like this
No they do not. I’ve been using them for years. I get my prescription from my eye doctor then type in the numbers.
Nope. You can order whatever the hell script you want. Just make sure you don’t order +4.25 instead of -4.25 like I did once 😆
I tried ordering glasses online and they wanted some measurement about the distance between the eyes? It wasn't included in the script and when I asked my eye dr about it, he said the measurement depended on the pair of glasses, and wouldn't be able to provide that ... Then went on a little rant about online shops ruining his business 😕
Agree with the person saying Zenni. Currently wearing zenni glasses that I got next day shipping because my expensive old ones broke and will never buy from an eye doctor again lol they cost me $60 INCLUDING next day shipping. Also if you know your prescription you just enter it, no need to verify
Food
I find food to be affordable if you only buy eggs and rice. Outside that though you're gonna break the bank
Potatoes go a long way also
Used cars. My daughter just bought her first. $8000 for a 20 year old car. Fucking absurd. It's a Honda so hopefully it'll at least go the distance for that price.
Yeah it's wild nowadays. When I was a teen I remember if you had 5k, you could get yourself a really, really nice car. . Back then you could honestly search the market and get decent cars for 2k or less. Now you're lucky if 5k gets you a shitbox that may turn over without any prior work Granted the market is "coming down" recently. That said cars are genuinely not affordable for a vast amount of Americans, who simultaneously rely on them for transportation. It's like a fucked up system, either pay to have a life, or don't get a car but be unable to work, go to the store, etc. Cars keep people poor when there's no alternative forms of transport.
Cash for clunkers really did a number on some decent used cars.
That was one of three things that destroyed the used car market. The other two: 1. New cars becoming unaffordable for the majority of Americans means both less supply of used cars and the ones that do enter the market cost more. 2 Covid shutdowns and now manufacturer's production slowdowns reduced the supply of new cars causing people to have to either keep their car longer or buy a used car instead. Also stimulus checks meant that people who had cars that needed to be replaced finally had the means to do it.
I went to Azerbaijan a couple of years ago. Was astounded at all the toyota prius' they had. Guy who was working at the dock said during covid the US rental car companies and dealerships just had tons of cars sitting around, so they put them on ships and sold them to Eastern European countries. Now the US has no old car inventory like they've had in previous years, so the price has gone up astronomically.
Period products, toothpaste. If you want soap you have so many options, cheaper ones and more expensive ones, I feel that since the inflation none of them are cheap and they are basic neccesities
Toiletries in general. Every time I need something I’m always shocked with the price… I needed body wash the other day and even the cheap Irish spring stuff was $5 a bottle.
The pink tax. Everything that caters to women is way more expensive. Look at razor blades, bras and other clothing items
Been using a reusable menstrual cup for probably a decade. HIGHLY recommended. one time purchase, no waste, no damp string, and can be worn much longer befor needing to be emptied.
Feminine hygiene products should be paid for by the government or at least incredibly affordable. Charging me that much money to cater to something I can’t control just isn’t right. Source - my uterus
About 15 years ago my then girlfriend sent me for tampons and I couldn’t believe how expensive they were. Can’t even imagine how much they are now.
Rent
Insulin. And overall any diabetic product. My father is a type 1 and my family can afford it but so many others can’t and it angers me, the markup.
I know a type 1 who flys from the US to his birthplace, Sweden, to get insulin. Saves a lot of $$ after the airfare.
I’m a dual citizen and that makes total sense to me. It’s so much cheaper like €30 for insulin… there’s a 1000% markup in USA because well big Pharma 🤦🏻♀️
Not big pharma, just the PBM’s I work for one of the major insulin producers, and we WANT to sell it cheaper, but in order for PBM’s to get their rebates, which makes them put our product on their list of prescription drugs available, we have to pump up the list price. So a product that maybe should cost $100 ends up costing $1000 so we can give the PBM’s 90% rebate… This move in the end, makes the product end up in the most patients hands (through prescriptions), this is the option we went for… If PBM’s were taken out of the equation the price would go WAY down…
Yes, and people feel like they have to ration their insulin. It’s sad.
Contraceptives, That's a great way to avoid teen pregnancies, Hike the price up so no teen can afford them.
Obgyn MD here: Absolutely. Things to consider to help - Medicaid based insurances cover almost all contraceptives nearly 100%. When pharmaceutical conspiracies introduce new meds, they try to get Medicaid approval almost first and foremost because the private insurance companies frequently follow what Medicaid covers. If you are on a pill/patch/ring - check with the company to look for coupons or search your area for “specialty pharmacies” or privately owned pharmacies that are usually much much much better about coupons and discount codes. GoodRx now has an online pharmacy with great prices on a lot of specialty medications that may not be covered elsewhere: ex Nextstellis birth control pill that uses a newer generation of estrogen with decreased risk of blood clots or decreasing libido or the Annovera ring - a Nuvaring that can stay in for one whole year with slightly higher hormone dose - great for endometriosis patients that got okay pain relief with Nuvaring but want some further increased effect.
Good info but I'm mid 30s and in England, hopefully some American teenager comes by this.
Right now? Raising a family. Clothing them, feeding them semi healthy meals, daycare, school, aftercare, extra curriculars etcetc.
That would be raising kids or raising a family.
But actually also pushing them out too. A friend told me what they paid for their recent newborn and I did my best not to grimace as I compared it to my bill from 10 years ago. I get insurances vary in the US, but it seems to me child birth is yet another thing added to the list that health insurance companies want you to pay more for. Any yet some people still don't understand why birth rates are declining...
Oh, for sure that too. I have one in the NICU right now and has been for a few weeks. I have no doubt the bill will be in the hundreds of thousands.
Sorry to hear that. Hope everything goes well.
I don’t know why I got downvoted in a previous post I made about a birthday party. But I basically said how I was surprised how much birthday parties are for kids. They wanted $30 A KID at a local bounce house type place. I just think that’s crazy
It's INSANE. We did it for our kids last year and for our 2 it was 480$..and they only got to invite 5 friends each..but hey..it included pizza..
Diamonds
Especially considering you can get synthetic diamonds nowadays which are extremely close to being identical with the real diamonds.
Yeah you’re basicly paying for the blood, with the real thing
They are identical. The only way to tell the difference is a synthetic is too perfect. No inclusions or occlusions.
And probably an advanced carbon 14 dating, considering diamonds would be older 🤷♂️ But I’m by no means an expert so I could be wrong. 😅 - and if you have to go that far to tell the difference can you really justify paying a lot more? 🥸 I know I wouldn’t, but I’m not exactly part of the clientele anyways.
Actually a very smart answer. The exorbitant price of diamonds is a market manipulation.
Food Medical care Housing Education
Well it's expensive for us. It's MAKING money for those who profit off those things pretty nicely.
Good thing these things aren’t basic human needs. *cries while laughing*
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The fact that wages haven't kept up with inflation is absolutely awful.
I’ve heard prostitution pays a lot better, if I was younger I might consider that
Fuck, everything is bro...
Certified Apple accessories.
Existing without even buying anything. Bills just keep magically appearing. Insurance is unaffordable. Everything has hidden taxes and fees. I’m not even having fun!!!! We need to stop procreating because what’s the point if your whole life is just paying additional fees and stuff you don’t even want
Living
Don't forget dying!
Healthcare, College, Chipotle Guacamole.
All equal problems in magnitude
Health Care
🇺🇸only🇺🇸
Haha. Only in America used to have such proud connotations. You’ve brought to light that it jus doint nah mah.
Rubbing alcohol. It used to be super cheap. A bottle was only .89 cents before the pandemic.
bleach, too!
Well, kiddos, let me tell ya, printer ink! It's like squeezing gold outta a unicorn's mane. You'd think it's just a bit of colored goo, but nope, it costs more than a week's worth of ice cream! And don't even get me started on how fast it runs out. It's like those ink cartridges have a secret jet pack to zoom away when you need 'em most. Crazy, right?
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Data. I live in Canada.
A healthy, varied diet. When you want good stuff, you have to pay for it. But its mostly Worth it uu.
Basic necessities. Food, OTC meds, period products, toilet paper, gas, used cars. Basically anything that people who earn under the poverty level need to live. Yes everyone needs that stuff, but the hourly employees that this country runs on can’t fucking buy them. Oh yeah, and housing.
Fixing anything in a house. Oh you have a leaky pipe and just need to replace a single section? That'll be 4k please. Oh you need to replace a single window? That'll be 10k please. I'm becoming a more handy person after buying my first home because the contractors will literally bankrupt you, while not bring available for 8 months to fix an emergency situation and then canceling on you last minute if they even bother to tell you they arent showing up.
Ticket fees
Peace and quiet: You’ve got to be privileged to be able to live somewhere that you don’t have to deal with everyone else’s noise.
rent, medical care, gas, uhhh everything else needed for basic survival
Canadian here. Gasoline. That is all. (Sorry)
I remember filling up for just over $0.60 a liter. It was March of 2020. I wish we could have those prices back. Hell, I wish we were at a dollar a liter.
Mouth guard - that piece plastic that should be probably few cents (maybe few dollars) costs $750 at dentist!
I've noticed that pop/soda/soft drinks have been going up dramatically over the past two years. Unless you buy in bulk or wait for the rare good sale at your grocery store, you're not getting good value for dollar.
Printer ink. It's fucking asinine.
Glasses
So much Americans here! Come to Europe, we have free healthcare and education (even most universities are free).
You guys have your own issues currently.
Yup, including active attempts to dismantle the healthcare and education systems.
Easier said than done
Yeah, but everything else is 3-4x more expensive.
Several friends of mine are US expats, so I’ve heard all about the problems Europe is facing. I think I’ll stay in the US and keep fighting for those things here.
Europe is full. Half of middle east and northern africa is already on their way....
Housing
Living
Dental care
Healthy food
Fresh food is always more expensive to transport than processed food
Electricity. Over the past year or two our Electricity suppliers in Ireland kept raising the price of it based on oil prices and inflation. Both of them have cone down and the wholesale price of Electricity has fallen nearly 70% from its high. The energy providers haven't dropped their prices to match this reduction AND they boast that (get this) nearly half of our energy wind power. If we're getting half of our power from wind and the other half from 70% cheaper oil or gas, why is the price still one of the highest in Europe. Also, our main provider just announced profits of nearly 1billion euro. We're being robbed.
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Perfumes, specialised medicine, mobile phones and laptops.
Potato chips. In the last decade I have seen them go from \~$2 to upwards of $7 a bag. My guy, they are potatoes.
#Houses
Im guessing you are Canadian
iPhone
Taco Bell.
Green peppers
Starbucks
$8 for a stick of deodorant. No wonder some of yall smell like shit.
What isn't..?!
Members of the U.S. congress. They get paid so much for getting nothing done
concert tickets
Baby formula
Electrolyte replacement products. The ingredients cost pennies, and they sell them for $1 a serving or more.
Bottled water
Food. I used to get groceries for my family - 4 adults and 2 kids - for two hundred a week at most. Now it's regularly $400.
Mattresses.
Diamonds. They really aren't rare at all the only thing that makes them expensive is the Company that owns almost every Diamond mine and they artificially keep the supply low.
Cigarettes. I don’t smoke them but they are so expensive. I know people who smoke a pack a day still at $17. Crazy.
Movie theater snacks, particularly popcorn. Yeah, all that other stuff above this are way more serious but I wanted to add something.
Uk here. Fucking everything.
Diamonds. Unless you make drill bits, they're worthless lumps of carbon. At least gold can be used in trillions of electronics
food, water, healthcare, medications, education, transportation, lands & residential properties, and most "brands"
Razor Blades...
iphones
Chicken McNuggets
Usual things only because they have a specific brand on it 🙃
Eggs
Food
Health care. Insurance is the biggest scam on people. Prices are so inflated to make you think you are getting a bargain when insurance "covers" x amount and you have to pay y amount. Only in America.
Food, gas, cars, everything
Practically any Crown Vic.
Oxygen we breathe and water
Food. Health care. Transportation/Fuel. Housing. Education.
Escorts