It's been true for a long time. The data has always been there to formulate persuasive arguments that, in a society that pretends to hold ideals of equality and justice such as ours, doing the thing we know to be good is always going to cost us less than refusing to do so. The problem for everyone is that, in many cases, the capitalists don't end up eating these costs themselves, so they're perfectly fine letting the government mop up their messes (at the same time that they're taking away the governments’ mops).

I know it's a similar thing with prisons. To give an example: If you're a private prison that decides to skimp on air conditioning during a heat wave to save a few hundred grand, you'll possibly end up having to pay millions later in lawsuits when inmates start dying.

The problem is that white supremacists like Trump are moving us closer to a place where those in power will finally drop all pretenses to equality and justice for all, deciding that convicts and the homeless deserve to die. Emergency rooms will stop admitting the homeless and wardens will let more and more prisoners die.