It's expensive to be cheap

This

A bigger concern is that it's expensive to be poor.

https://www.economist.com/united-states/2015/09/03/its-expen...

That article is about financial exploitation (a very real problem for which Bernie had a great solution - offer basic retail banking at the post office), not about inexpensive, sh*tty consumer goods.

The problem is, the poor can only afford the inexpensive goods, so they are "cheap" (i.e. they make cost-inefficient purchases) through lack of choice.

The coffee makers are now $30.

You just adapt, I can make great coffee with a 40 year old Italian Moka Pot that I can get for $5 at a second hand store and will last 200 years or more.

Do people still use drip coffee makers? I don't think any of the ways I make coffee are capable of clogging, and I have like four different ones.

Should descale the Nespresso though…

Do people still use one of the cheapest and lowest time and energy investment ways to make coffee in an era of increasing pressure on time, money, and energy?

Yes.

Well they should get a Zojirushi water boiler and an Aeropress.

That's a lot of trouble for a single cup of coffee. I think you imagine a different circumstance from those a drip coffee maker serves. It's not for making a nice cup of coffee for yourself while you relax before work. It's for making enough coffee for everyone as they rush around in the morning getting ready for the day, or for a whole office.

The way I mentioned is the fastest one I know of! It’s definitely faster than waiting for a drip machine to heat up cold water.

One cup. The point is you can make 12 (or more) while you do other things for the 10 minutes it takes.

That boiler comes up as over $100 minimum when I google it. I think you missed the part about cost. You can get a 40-cup coffee maker for less than that and still save more time than your Aeropress.