Caltrops - Balance of Power - You need to do a little more research before talking about this.

Forum Overview :: Balance of Power

by blackwater 01/14/2017, 12:49am PST

You need to do a little more research before talking about this. I usually enjoy reading what you post, but lately you've parroting propaganda and fake news like a kind of left-wing version of "ja."

Mischief Maker wrote:

blackwater wrote:

You also left out the part where a lot of these drugs are only developed because the drug companies believe they can recoup their costs through high prices in the US. The same drugs are often given away essentially at cost or below cost in other parts of the world, because it would be economically or politically infeasible to do otherwise. Since you're a BS supporter, just think of it as the price you pay for all that white patriarchical privilege. People in India get the pill for 50 cents, but you have to pay 50 dollars, shitlord.

Huh. So these companies make zero profit in Canada? Zero profit in India? Zero profit in the US when selling to the VA?

Nothing I wrote stated or implied that they make zero profit in Canada or India.

Mischief Maker wrote:

Or worse, negative profit that must be recouped by overcharging in the US?

"Negative profit" is usually called "loss" and is generally avoided by businessmen.

Mischief Maker wrote:

Soooooooo... why do they go to the expense of exporting their drugs to these countries in the first place?

Notice that I never said that the company that researched the drug was exporting it. Once the formula for the drug is known, pretty much anyone can manufacture it.

The price of a drug is pretty much whatever the government allows the drug company to charge. The government grants limited monopolies on drugs, called patents. The idea is that these patents incentivize the drug companies to discover new drugs. No incentives, no new drugs! Drugs cost literally billions to develop and get certified and nobody does it in their spare time. Foreign governments sometimes recognize the patents that the US grants on drugs, and sometimes not.

Once the company has a monopoly, it can select what price to charge. What price should it choose? They can use concepts like the demand curve to find the profit-maximizing price. The demand curve will be different in a rich country versus a poor one. It's the same concept behind differentiated pricing. They also want to be sensitive to political considerations and not charge too much for something they have a monopoly on. They also have to think about what kinds of deals they can make with the VA, big insurers, and so forth. There may also be humanitarian reasons to charge less than the profit-maximizing price as well. It can generate a lot of goodwill for the company, which could be helpful. But ultimately, the drug company is not going to work for free. If they can't make back their investment, the researchers are going to lose their jobs, and drug development is going to stop.

There may very well be other models for funding drug development. But this is the one we've got at the moment. It works pretty well at producing drugs that help the US population. Sometimes it helps people in other countries, too! But usually the companies don't focus on that, because they can't make a profit on it. So there are still no cures for a lot of tropical and third-world diseases.

Now that you understand the topic a bit, maybe we can have a discussion? Or not.

Mischief Maker wrote:

You're the guy who suggested pay raises for public employees should be decided by public referendum every time, right?

Nope!

I did argue that public sector unions are a bad idea.

Forget the pee. Establishment darling Cory Booker just voted against cheap meds. by Mischief Maker 01/12/2017, 7:18pm PST NEW

Come on, you understand that different countries have different laws about drugs by blackwater 01/13/2017, 2:24pm PST NEW

BWAHAHAHAHAA!!! by Mischief Maker 01/13/2017, 3:08pm PST NEW

You need to do a little more research before talking about this. by blackwater 01/14/2017, 12:49am PST NEW

God you are a fucking retard. NT by Worm 01/14/2017, 11:59am PST NEW

Good. GOOD. Let the hate flow through you. NT by Fortinbras 01/14/2017, 12:10pm PST NEW

Jesus christ NT by fabio 01/13/2017, 7:27pm PST NEW