Every other avenue of runaway consumerism and overconsumption can obviously be pointed to as either indulgent or unnecessary.
But not healthcare: it's your health, after all - your wellbeing. It's a fundamental right, right ?
...
The received wisdom is that the aging of the baby boomer generation is driving expanded healthcare expenses as this large sect gets older. It's obvious that they need all of this "healthcare".
But what if there were an alternative, more insidious explanation:
The boomers represent an irresistible pile of money. But they don't smoke. They don't have new households to start. They're getting wise to the whole sugar thing. What is left to tempt them with ?
What if there were a clear imperative on the part of a variety of industries to keep this population as unhealthy as possible - so they can stripmine their assets for "healthcare" ?