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The big problem with big pharma


Yes, Big Pharma is a suitable target for resistance, even Resistance. A lot of people agree about this -- pretty near every adult American not on the payroll of Big Pharma and even many who are on those payrolls would agree with this.

And so we have Robert F. Kennedy Jr ready to head the Department of Health and Human Services. Aside from his family name and connections, this is the one point of appeal about RFK Jr.: not that he once hid a dead bear in Central Park in an elaborate ruse, not that he is a licensed master falconer, not even that there is a dead critter in his head ... but that he is an enemy of Big Pharma.

But we ought to try to be clear at the expense of that unlikely appeal.

For many of us, the big problem that MAKES IT SO is not that Big Pharma invents imaginary ills in order to sell drugs that create real ills. No ... the big problem is that Big Pharma abuses IP law so that it gets to jack up the prices of drugs that are genuinely valuable.

Not that its products are bad but that they are very good -- vital -- is what makes its actions abusive. This is something the HHS head presumptive does NOT understand.

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  1. Paul D. Van PeltJanuary 3, 2025 at 7:21 AM

    This is public service announcement for anyone needing help in meeting g high drug costs. I know, from experience. There are places and ways for people to get relief. It behooves parients to talk to doctors and other healthcare workers and get the best guidance possible. I don't know what Mr. Kennedy can or will do. He is, un, quirky. So, do not yet despair friends. Do some homework.

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  2. Paul D. Van PeltJanuary 7, 2025 at 10:11 AM

    Yes, OK, I am nervous about many things.I also believe a few, though I can't KNOW many. I believe this affirmation of capitalism and *free* enterprise is signal to corruption and decay. I also think de-emphasis on ethics, morality, integrity and so on is proof of our anthropomorphism. (My tablet can't/won't remember that word---consistently advises me to add it to its' dictionary) Yes, I'm nervous about many things.

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