I see that it says certain settlement shops "raise income based on population" but where does the raised income actually go to? Asking the merchant "how's it going" just has them say "it's all good bruh" with no followup, and it isn't in their trade inventory.
This was also a thing in New Vegas
Never forget the time a handful of Great Khans took a few NCR soldiers hostage for 12 years. How did they even get food and drink while they were blockaded in there for so long? Shouldnt they have starved to death or died of thirst after a while? Or wouldn't they have shot the hostages eventually after not getting what they wanted? Man, New Vegas loving sucks, what a stuffty awful game.