Monopoly money isn't real money. You know what else isn't real money? How your medical costs are calculated.

[bucolic_frolic]

1. It's a very valid OP

The cost of anything is time and materials, including overhead, costs of production, living wage for personnel at all steps of assembling the final service. Overhead includes a tiny fraction of buildings, rent, insurance, utilities. If it could all be calculated down to the penny.

It's most obvious in housing. The intrinsic value of a home is land, labor, materials. Everything else is profit - for the builder, the mortgage company, the bank, the rent (interest rate) on the money.

But the guy that fixes your home wants $250 to look at it, then presents a walk-away price to repair it. You're out the inspection fee either way. You could fix it yourself for materials and a couple hours. But you just spent $3000.

Health care is no different. Yet look at what we pay.