It takes 20 units of effort to make 3 medicine boxes - meaning 6.666 units of effort per box. Average wage is hovering between $4 and $4.25 right now. 4$ * 6.666 = $26.66 per box (slightly cheaper if you work your own company). Price of Medicine Box is $14 right now. I'm running a 13 dollar loss on each box produced, I cannot afford to pay workers. Not sure if it's this bad in any other industry, but I suspect it is.
The whole thing is rigged unless you own multiple parts of the supply chain. As a new user, that's not very possible.
Food is at best break even if you don't own a store front but in reality there's not enough volume on the exchange to sustain even a few cents per package. You have to own a store front to make any $.
I tried to buy land but was outbid on 4 lots while I slept. *shrug*
