Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumWhy Hillary Clinton Is Right About Pfizer
http://time.com/4125662/hillary-clinton-pfizer/
Why Hillary Clinton Is Right About Pfizer
Rana Foroohar @RanaForoohar
10:14 AM ET
The problem with tax "inversion" deals
Three cheers for Hillary Clinton and other politicians who are decrying Pfizers tax inversion deal that would allow it to take over an Irish pharma company and relocate there, thus saving $21 billion in American taxes. Tax inversion dealsmergers done pretty much for the sole purpose of saving tax money by moving to a foreign tax jurisdictionhave been on the rise for a while now. One of the many reasons they are so egregious is that the very firms that are most able to do themincluding pharmaceutical and tech companies that have most of their value in intellectual property that can be easily relocated elsewherehave also been the biggest beneficiaries of government help.
Pfizer and other such firms will argue that they need to pay lower taxes to fund the research that results in miracle drugs. But that is a myth. We credit the private sector for the innovation and growth in our economy. But a number of academics and policy thinkers, including University of Sussex economist Mariana Mazzucato, author of The Entrepreneurial State: Debunking Public vs. Private Sector Myths, argue powerfully that it is the government (and thus taxpayers) rather than the private sector that deserves the credit for such innovation. Every major technological change in recent years traces most of its funding back to the state, says Mazzucato, who backs the claim up with powerful statistics and anecdotes in her book. Most parts of the smartphone that make it smartGPS, touchscreens, the Internetwere advanced by the Defense Department. Teslas batteries came out of a Department of Energy grant. Googles search algorithm was boosted by a National Science Foundation innovation.
Likewise, many new drugs that have made big money for firms like Pfizer have come out of NIH research. The National Institutes of Health have spent almost a trillion dollars since its founding on the research that created both the pharmaceutical and the biotech sectorswith venture capitalists only entering biotech once the red carpet was laid down in the 1980s.
So why the mythology that the private sector deserves all the profits and the credit for innovation? ...............
InfoView thread info, including edit history
TrashPut this thread in your Trash Can (My DU » Trash Can)
BookmarkAdd this thread to your Bookmarks (My DU » Bookmarks)
3 replies, 788 views
ShareGet links to this post and/or share on social media
AlertAlert this post for a rule violation
PowersThere are no powers you can use on this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
ReplyReply to this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
Rec (7)
ReplyReply to this post
3 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight:
NoneDon't highlight anything
5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Why Hillary Clinton Is Right About Pfizer (Original Post)
riversedge
Nov 2015
OP
daleanime
(17,796 posts)1. Because she is Hillary....
and is right about all things?
Sorry, you have no idea how hard I tried to keep a straight face. Oh well, carry on.
NurseJackie
(42,862 posts)3. LOL! I got it! It was amusing!
restorefreedom
(12,655 posts)2. ok. the dems agree that it sucks
what are they going to do about it?