Yes, we do subsidize the pharmaceutical costs for the rest of the world. But whose fault is that?

[YewNork]

Suppose you own a house. There are four other houses on your street, owned by four other people.
You all have the same size lawns. None of you want to mow your own lawn, and there is a local company that will mow your lawn.
There are no other homes in your area that want a lawn mowing service, just these five homes. So the market for the mowing company is fairly narrow.

Let's refer to YOU as homeowner 1.

The mowing service offers to mow homeowner 2's house for $30 per month. Homeowner 2 tells the mowing service that he'll pay them $10 per month. The mowing service accepts.
The mowing service offers to mow homeowner 3's house for $35 per month. Homeowner 3 tells the mowing service that he'll pay them $20 per month. The mowing service accepts.
The mowing service offers to mow homeowner 4's house for $40 per month. Homeowner 4 tells the mowing service that he'll pay them $20 per month. The mowing service accepts.
The mowing service offers to mow homeowner 5's house for $50 per month. Homeowner 5 tells the mowing service that he'll pay them $10 per month. The mowing service accepts.
The mowing service offers to mow YOUR house for $90 per month. You reluctantly say OK, because it wouldn't be fair to negotiate with the mowing service, and the mowing service
knows that you won't negotiate. In fact, the mowing company's owner regularly encourages you not to attempt to negotiate. You end up paying $90 per month, while your neighbors
pay either $10 or $20.

You're unhappy that you're subsidizing everyone else's mowing service, but your principles won't let you negotiate. The other homeowners say that it's not their fault you don't believe in negotiating.

NOW - substitute homeowners for countries, and the mowing service for pharmaceutical companies. You're the USA. See any similarities?

[Indydem]

1. Not even close.

A more appropriate annalogy, using the circumstances you've set up would be the following:

A mowing company spent 10 years developing a new mower that would do twice the yards in half the time with a better cut. It would also edge the lawn and trim the bushes as the mower drove by. The lawn company applies fr a patent and receives it. They begin to offer selling their services in your neighborhood.

You, (homeowner 1) wanting to get your lawn mowed, the lawn edged, and the bushes trimmed, agree to their price of $35 per week.

Unfortunately for you, your neighbors down the street are less than honest people full of integrity. When the lawn company goes to their homes they make the following deal:

"Well, I want those services too, but I will not pay the going rate. I will "negotiate" with you, and here are my terms. You will mow my lawn for $10 a month. In exchange, I will not break into your place of business, steal the plans for your new mower, and make cheap knock offs and mow my lawn myself."

Being as the lawn company just spent the revenue from all their mowing for 1 year on this new mower, what choice do they have? So they agree to the terms to protect their invention and their ability to make at least a little money.

The next year, they develop a new-new mower that will also spray for weeds while they mow. Unfortunatley for them, your neighbors have not gotten any less scrupulous and demand $5 per mowing, despite the new and unique services the new mower offers.

And the cycle continues ad nauseum. The reason we pay for the rest of the world to have the benefits of these drugs, is thay refuse to honor patents and legal restrictions, and if not given the deal they want, will vacate those patents and allow a third party to manufacture those drugs for their country.

Other countries get cheap drugs because they are thieves. End of story.

[Celebration]

2. Haha

Funny. It is a two way street. The lawnmowing service isn't forced to mow anyone's lawn at all. Why do they even agree to mow anyone's lawn down the street? Altruism? Ha. The profit motive is in play.

But Homeowner 1? Guess what? Homeowner 1, (US Medicare, etc.), by law is not allowed to negotiate a price, and has to take whatever price the service dictates, or let the lawn grow. There is only ONE lawnmowing company for patented drugs. That=monopoly profits.

[On the Road]

3. Didn't Figure to Hear a Defense

of unregulated profits on a natural monopoly on DU.

The original analogy isn't all that bad. The reason Americans pay so much for pharmaceuticals is that (1) prices are unregulated, (2) they are considered necessary items that must be purchased at whatever cost, and (3) competition is prohibited by law for the life of the patent.

[YewNork]

5. Nobody forces the drug companies to do business in other countries

Other countries get cheap drugs because they are thieves. End of story.

They get them because they negotiate deals with the drug companies.
In Canada, the government agrees to give the drug companies extended patents on their new drugs.
In other words, they give them exclusive rights to sell that drug for a longer period, before the
drug can be sold generically. In exchange, the drug companies sell their drugs at lower prices.

And nobody is forcing the drug companies to sell in countries where these types of requirements are in place. In other words, if a country tells a drug company that they'll have to negotiate in order to sell their drugs in that country, otherwise they won't be allowed to sell there, the drug companies would be free to reply that they won't sell their drugs there. But they don't, do they?

[hedgehog]

4. On the other hand, poor countries take the load for all the early

human testing.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

6. actually what we are subsidizing is Viagra ads and CEO bonuses

marketing and obnoxious television ads.

We should outlaw them, as other countries have.

[uppityperson]

7. Why do lawns need mowing anyway? Aside from a small fire safety strip,

that is pretty much all that is needed. If someone wants to have a mowed lawn, then they either have to do it themselves or hire someone to do it.

Maybe more vitamin D would help?