Both are a form of supply and demand.

1) Consumers want the product which provides them with the most value given the item's cost.

2) Workers and companies want the most value per their capital expenditure (whether personal labor or funds).

I don't see any problem with that, both can be maximized at the same time and work as a balance. One issue is that we've become much better at optimizing #1, and have become worse at optimizing especially the worker part of #2. Workers still relatively rarely switch jobs, which eliminates a good amount of upward pressure on wages.

Stuff like the employer-paid health insurance tax deduction is detrimental to this liquidity. Give the deduction to individuals, not employers.

Thats exactly how a ethical society operate if they know givin the idea that large government programs natural shift towards tyranny and that bad things are inevitable and trying to legislate them out typically works out terribly.

I don't think americans want corporations to solve this either I think they want people to have the ability for people to solve it for themselves for better or worse.

> I don't think americans want corporations to solve this either I think they want people to have the ability for people to solve it for themselves for better or worse.

i think ideally, this is what everyone wants, but like with anything

1. you can only do as well as the system lets you (fairness, opportunity, education, livelyhood, available free-time, paperwork, insurance, healthcare etc)

2. some people can cope with things better than others... these are personality traits, physical issues (endurance, headaches, anxiety, digestive issues etc)

(1 and 2) can be helped with more universal access to (to help them stand on thier own) such as heathcare, transportation, job opportunites for when the economy goes down, minimal sheltering, cheap postal services (free even for those who dont have an address), free counceling services etc