This is what has baffled me for a while. You would think that the captains of industry would want to make sure people are healthy. You need healthy laborers and you don't want your consumers to die. The rich are so nearsighted 🙄

Yeah, those are next quarter problems. The important thing is profits are up this quarter. People used to be good at running businesses, now they're good at driving a company into the ground for maximum short-term profit.

captains of industry are not rational actors: this is the mistake too many people make when analyzing the baffling actions of oligarchs

One person can think ahead, multiple people forming a competitive culture of greed tend to be unable to see past short term profit

Or they just enjoy the exercise of power so much that they don’t mind if they lose some money along the way. Your answer is the more hopeful one.