PART V: THE FOUR EXTRACTIONS

You need a home. You need a doctor. You need a future. You may want children.

In each case, someone positioned themselves between you and what you need. In each case, they charge a toll that grows faster than your income. In each case, the arrangement has a name and a history and identifiable beneficiaries.

This section examines the four institutions that once provided stability — housing, healthcare, retirement, family formation — and documents their conversion into toll booths. The math leads to one destination.