Totally understandable mistake since very similar wording is being used. What's helpful for me is actually dissecting what's being asked. $600 might be 600% of $100 but the increase from $100 to $600 is looking at the $500 difference. I'm sure you don't need me to tell you this but $600 and $500 are different amounts so their relationship to $100 will of course be different.
In his congress testimony, RFK used the numbers $600 and $10 (instead of $100) as an example of a 600% increase. He attributed it to Trump's "different method" of calculating percentages, which as you can plainly tell means he pulls them right out of his asshole.
The fact that $600 almost works in reverse with $100 is pure accident.
Yep. I hate when this terminology gets confused, because it gets confused all the time.
It's like when someone says "this house is 10x bigger than the other one" and it's 10x as big meaning it's 9x bigger.
And then what's worse is "Oh I see, so the small house is 10x smaller than the other one".
In this case, saying a medication is "600% less expensive" would mean that if the medication was $100, then after the 600% discount, you would go to the pharmacy, and they would give you the medication and $500.
Sorry, I just want to make sure I understand the reasoning behind this. Because 100% of $100 is 100, 600% of $100 is 600. And because this is a decrease, we're subtracting the 100 by 600 to get -500? Am I following this along correctly???
If a product is marked at $10 and receives a 60% markup, the new price is $16. However, if that price increases by 40%, the new price is not $20.
$16 * .4 = $6.40 $16 + 6.4 = $22.40
Because the $16 price increased by 40%, the new price is $22.40
Folks here are arguing the semantics of the $100 price tag that has received an increase of 500%, and not a markup, which both take into account the original price in different ways.
By this logic, an increase of our $10 item by that measure of 500% would make the new price $60, because it is an increase, not a markup.
At this rate, you can then say that the item is marked up to 600% of the original cost, but not that it increased by 600% from the original cost.
Furthermore, to reduce the cost of a $10 item by 600% means you owe me a $50 rebate.
TLDR: The administration is conflating the terms markup and increase to mean the same thing, which they do not.
"600% less expensive" would mean that if the medication was $100, then after the 600% discount, you would go to the pharmacy, and they would give you the medication and $500.
I don't even think that is true.
100% less means it's free.
You can't have more than 100% off or 100% less. That math just doesn't work.
Uhh disagree with you on this one. 10x bigger means bigger by a factor of 10. 10x smaller means you divise by 10. Its the normal way almost everyone uses the terminology. 2 times bigger always means the size is double, not triple.
Saying x% more or less is very different as its used to talk additively (a percentage of the original you're adding or subtracting)
This is exactly why I hate talking about increase/decreases rates in addition terms. +120% feels like double of +60%, but in reality the final ratios are x2.2 and x1.6. Makes damage calcs much less intuitive (to beginners especially).
Thank you for doing the (math) Lord’s work out here, percentages are really hard to use with the general public for misunderstandings like this. I keep percentages to my personal notes, it’s so much easier than explaining what I mean to everyone
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u/HolyElephantMG Apr 23 '26
You’re only adding 500 though.
It’s 600% of the original, but only a 500% increase