US blocks cheap drugs agreement

[Jaakko]

Arrrgh, what have I done to have this nutball invasion descend upon my innocent little thread?

[Sava]

Sorry, I've been Fezzing... but this issue just pisses me off so much I can't help it

[TCO]

Originally posted by Sava
Sorry, I've been Fezzing... but... I can't help it

Understood. There, there.

[David Floyd]

Socialized medicine works

I'm sorry, you're telling me that England's NHS is a GOOD system? Or in Canada, where people come over the border to the US to go to the doctor?

There need not be any socialist propaganda other that a stating of the facts.

Oh, well, then if we're talking about FACTS, the FACT is that socialized medicine would require large tax increases. These tax increases are politically unpopular (and probably a bad idea, economically, anyway), and Americans do not tend to like heavy, oppressive taxation - EVEN AT THE "COST" of not having as big of a welfare state as Western Europe has.

But ignorance and conformity is king in the US... whoever puts out the best ad campaign would win.

Well, obviously you socialists aren't very good at selling your solution to the public. I'd recommend that y'all take some PR classes, and then mold your ideas into something politically feasible in the US.

Hell, my ideas are just as unpopular, but at least I admit it.

[Sava]

::sigh::

[TCO]

My work is done.

[mactbone]

Look Sava, I'll give you a hypothetical based on a real life situation.

Some guy owns a private company that manufactures RVs. The company earns 6 million in profit. That looks great! Then there's the 40% corporate tax - oh well, it's still 3.6 million. Then there's the inventory which is obviously not liquid, and that's another 2 million.

So, instead of 6 million, you have 1.6 million. That's about 27% of what you started with. This particular company also has larger than average profit margins. So you have to remember that there are many things that we don't always know about that could explain decisions.

[Sava]

yup GP, nothing makes me quit a discussion faster than irrelevant, stubborn arguments from Floyd...

[David Floyd]

How is my argument irrelevant? Methinks you know that I'm a better at debate, so you aren't gonna go down that road.

[Sava]

... I was wrong... MacTBone's poor attempt at explaining the way a corporation works is in that category, too

[Sava]

Originally posted by David Floyd
How is my argument irrelevant? Methinks you know that I'm a better at debate, so you aren't gonna go down that road.

Yes, David that's it... let me bow to you now

[Jaakko]

In a futile attempt to return to sanity, how large a part of the pharm. companies research budgets are subsidised by the govt., directly or indirectly through university grants and such?

[Sava]

probably much more than they should be...

[SpencerH]

Pharmaceutical companies spend a lot on 'research' but most (but not all) of that money is for the clinical trials (a.k.a. paying physicians buckets full of money) not for the basic research. Virtually no pharmaceutical company, and certainly not the big-boys, takes a product from concept to market anymore. Almost all of the basic research is paid for by taxpayers.

[Sava]

That seems terrible anti-capitalist if the drug companies don't even pay for their own research and clinical trials. Funny how the capitalists don't believe in welfare for the people, yet are strangely silent in terms of corporate welfare. And yes, I would consider this corporate welfare.