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1/ As I reported my book, I noticed something that has completely changed American life: widespread chronic under-staffing. It leads to, among other things, deadly medication errors at pharmacies, flight delays, messy stores, and the crime wave. From me @prospect.org prospect.org/2026/03/19/u...

2/ A big part of the story is the spread of monopoly businesses like CVS, who, because they control all the pharmacies in their area, do not care that patients have to wait up to a month for their medications to be filled bc they have so few pharmacy workers.

3/ The state of Ohio found the understaffing was so rampant they used the pharmacy giant and won a $1.5 million lawsuit. Regulators in the state found stores in complete disarray, boxes all over the floors and high temps destroying medication.

4/ Retail workers, especially grocery stores workers, told me that understaffing partially explained the crime wave that gained media attention during the pandemic: with scant workers stocking shelves it became incredibly easy to steal.