Again, I thought it was obvious that I was talking about consumer goods, as the sentence before that one was about consumer goods. Why would marketing have anything to do with healthcare?

You’re trying very hard to completely miss the broader point and are instead nitpicking something that I didn’t even claim. This is entirely a waste of time.

It’s also why discussion culture has gotten so terrible on the internet, because instead of making obvious assumptions about my intent, people insist on critiquing little irrelevant pieces of it.

I don’t think this is nitpicking I actually disagree with you. I think it’s an empirical question how much money could be saved by disavowing only the frivolous consumer items that you’re talking about. My hunch is, it’s less than you think.

poor people go to the emergency room and just never pay the bill. it barely even matters on your credit these days.