The way the market works: You charge a competitive price that allows you to cover your costs and make a profit. If your product provides enough value to the buyer, they’ll pay for it.
That’s what’s taught. There’s quite a bit more in practice, including: what insurance companies learned from management consultants.
But they aren’t colluding to eek every ounce of money from people.
Maybe so, though there appears to be a common interest.
Exactly. A more accurate headline would be “Americans are Falling Behind on their Income.”