Posted on 01/20/2008 4:25:45 AM PST by Aristotelian
George Will explains it very well, but let me help in case you really don’t want to go read the article.
The reason drugs are cheap in Canada is not because the Canadians can research, create, market, and distribute drugs much cheaper than our own drug companies.
No, it’s because Canada has a socialist system of health care, that gives everybody lower-quality health care. They don’t invent drugs, they buy them from our american companies. But they tell the american companies they MUST sell drugs cheap in Canada.
By allowing the re-importation of drugs, you are essentially allowing Canada to set the price of drugs for the United States.
I don’t know that Lieberman (or Zell Miller!) are quite the folk heroes elsewhere as they are around here.
Jim Jeffords and John McCain = traitors!
Joe Lieberman and Zell Miller = Men of Principle!
Something about ox goring comes to mind...
I talk to Republicans every day, people I know for a fact are conservatives, and although McCain isn’t their first choice they are going to support him if he is the party’s nominee. We here on FR sometimes become so dogmatic that we allow reason to be replaced by emotion. Any reasonable conservative would admit that McCain would be a better choice than Clinton to occupy the White House for the next four years. It isn’t even close. I don’t expect McCain to unite the Republican Party for November. I believe Hillary Clinton will do that.
That's true. This thread reminds me of a bunch of Kucinich supporters I heard talking up here in NH back in December. They were complaining about how the corporate controlled right wing NY Times was pushing the too-conservative Hillary Clinton on them and that Obama was too right wing for them because he voted for "Cheney's energy bill". They blamed the media for the fact that Kucinich has such a small following lol!
That's today; by this time next week, SC and Iowa will both be specks in the rear-view mirror, and we will hear about the wisdom and power of the Florida voter.
And a week after that we will hear about the power of all the voters on Supercalifragalistickexpealidotious Tuesday.
> Who in the world are these “SC low country voters” <
A large proportion of them are military families — both active duty and retired.
Because sending drugs from Kansas City to Tornoto and then to Cleveland can only be done for one purpose, to import the price controls imposed by the Canadian government. How else do you think American made drugs just get magically cheaper if they've crossed the Canadian border once or twice.
That's why they debate "reimportation" not importation.
In the meantime step aside while the rest of the Republican party tries to put end end to the Clinton era. ***
Newbie, I see Viking Kitties and Ozone in your immediate future as you apparently signed up on the wrong website. Read the FR Homepage while you still can 'centrist'.
We ARE Your Overlords... ZOT!!!
see ya troll.
By allowing the re-importation of drugs, you are essentially allowing Canada to set the price of drugs for the United States.”
CharlesWayneCT, all you state is true. Additionally, the truth is that Canada/Canadians are enjoying their low cost drugs off of the backs of Americans (but what’s now there, right?) who bear the cost of research and development, take to market, and so forth. Being that the population of Canada is small, the various U.S. drug companies are apparently willing to tolerate this situation. However, if the U.S. should follow Canada with a government prescription program which set artificial prices we would very quickly see R&D dry up for sure which is the strength of American drug companies, renowned around the world. Then, where would we be - including those free-loading Canadians...
Sorry. I prefer Hillary to McCain.
You aren't "setting" anything. You are letting Americans purchase drugs at the lowest price they can find. If Canada mandates a ceiling, and some drugs are available through Canada at the ceiling price, so be it; what's the problem?
Does Canada make a lot of drugs? Or do they rely upon the enterprise and creativity of Americans to create and produce the drugs they enjoy?
I don't know. What does it matter? Evidently there are some drugs made by American companies that they find worthwhile to sell to Canada, even though there are price ceilings. That's a choice they make.
The worst possible outcome I can envision is that, if the U.S. started purchasing drugs through Canada's price ceiling at a greater rate, then it would no longer be worthwhile for so many companies to sell drugs to/through Canada as a "loss leader", and so they would cease. In other words, the "worst" outcome is that we destroy the effectiveness of Canada's price ceilings, or at least force them to raise to something approaching true market value.
But depending on how you look at it, that could be considered a good outcome.
But as President if he wishes to remove the motive for the development of new drugs he is a fool.
Neither you nor Will has explained how this would remove the motive for development of new drugs.
Slight correction: they tell American companies that if they want to sell drugs to Canada, they must sell them at a cheap(er) price.
Evidently, American companies find it worthwhile to do so. Else they wouldn't. Right?
Has the Canadian government somehow enslaved American pharmaceutical companies?
“Viking Kitties”
Right. Zot ‘em! Can’t have people thinking different, can we?
You still haven't explained anything in a way that reveals an actual problem.
In ABC's New Hampshire debate, McCain said: "Why shouldn't we be able to reimport drugs from Canada?"
In that same debate McInsane said the Pharmaceutical Companies are "the enemy". Mitt shot back, "no they aren't". McInsane replied...
Yes they are, 'my friend'.McInsane, like Rooty, is running in the wrong party.
An aside: The 'my friend' line of McInsane is going to be the new 'drinking game'. It's almost up there now with 'Rooty & Reagan'.
If the price of the drug is set to recover the cost of capital, and the Canadian’s choose to arbitrarily reduce the price and make the drug less than the price necessary to meet the cost of capital you will not be in the business to produce drugs. It’s pretty simple really.
As an American I’m angry I am subsidizing the drug costs of Canadians. Clearly their price caps are requiring drug sales in the US to be at a higher price so the firms can recover their investment. You want the price of the drugs to go down, you force the Canadians to purchase the drugs at the price necessary for the firms to recover their investment.
If conservatives step aside, you will not be ending the Clinton era. You will be adding 8 years to it. MCcain will not win the general election precisely because conservatives will step aside. We may hold our noses and vote for him, (I won’t, even with my nose held) but we will not work for him.
Ask yourself why Bush 41 and Dole lost.
Every once in awhile George Will gets it right.
We are going to need garlic. Lots of garlic.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.