Bloomberg Plans To Raise Cig Age To 21

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[Winchester]

[Professor]

[Professor]

[Aaron]

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[Professor]

[Kane]

[Professor]

I'm sorry - did I ever say that there was zero government involvement in any of these drugs? Did I say that government subsidies was a bad thing in them?

What you and your articles are saying is that the public (through their elected officials and their appointees) have said that it is in the greater public good to BOTH give government subsidies to these companies AND allow them to charge elevated pricing. Without government subsidies, that $400k drug might have cost $800k or $1m per year. If it cost 2x as much, you can assumes that 1/2 as many people could afford it. So, by withholding government assistance, you have denied life-saving care to 4000 people.

Now, I fully believe that it's possible to put a dollar value on a life. I've done it before. I'm guessing that not many others here have, though. Are you ready to start taking on that level of responsibility? Would you, if you were a legislator, be prepared to stand up and say, "I'm OK with spending 1 billion tax dollars on this research that will benefit only 8000 people. But, I'm unwilling to spend $2 billion. Therefore, I'm valuing an American life at more than $125,000, but less than $250,000."

My point is that, if people are willing to pay a price, then there is no reason that a company should not charge that price. Government assistance doesn't figure into that equation.

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