As bad as the Soviet Union was, they still had advances in technology.

Should've done sightings per capita, otherwise there is a spurious correlation between the two based on population.

Living wage varies from place to place. Some places in the US it probably is around $15/hour. Others may have living wages as high as $30/hour. What they should do is set the minimum wage based on a formula for local living costs.

I agree. Firms charge whatever they think their clients are willing to pay. The person I was replying to implied that the price of refined oil increased because it became more costly to refine when in reality it's mostly caused by a predictable market reaction to contracting supply and expanding demand.

Many refineries closed down as demand nosedived during the pandemic. Now demand is back, but the refineries remain shuttered. This leads to a refinery shortage, allowing refiners to hike up their prices and expand their profit margins. So the cost to refine isn't much more, they're just now in a position to charge a lot more for it.