But they know that, which is why healthcare costs have consistently increased higher than inflation.
Healthcare is one of THE MOST demand inelastic commodities or services. People do not say “oooh that’s a lot of money - is there a worse doctor who is cheaper?”, instead they say “100% yes I will remortgage my home and sell assets to pay for the cancer treatment my child needs.” Nobody is at the free clinic by choice, they’re there because they cannot afford or borrow to pay for better care.
Capitalism is incompatible with ‘rational consumer purchasing choices’ that apply to clothes, food, TVs, etc. because when there’s death or life altering negative outcomes, the only rational decision is to pay WHATEVER the price demanded is. Healthcare has a demand wall, not a demand curve.
President and Chief Executive Officer David L. Calhoun - $32,770,519
CEO of Commercial Airplanes, Stanley A. Deal - $12,200,851
Chief Financial Officer Brian J. West - $11,910,638
CEO of Global Services Stephanie F. Pope - $9,537,503
CEO of Defense, Space & Security Theodore Colbert III - $8,963,171
In each case, easily 75% of their pay package is from stock options - their loyalty is to the line going up, not steady and organic growth by restoring a solid foundation to the company and investing in their (little) people.
Especially so in parallel with the $68 billion in stock buyback Boeing leadership has done since 2010. All done to boost stock price by reducing the float - $68 billion that wasn’t spent investing in the company’s future, safety standards, quality controls, the end product, or workforce.