midrange.com -- CPF0000 -- Re: A Modern Fairy Tale

At 1/2/04 04:27 PM, I wrote:
>
>I disagree specifically with the final assertion.  If taxes support 
>research, the cost of that research won't have to be paid by the 
>recipients of the treatments.  That by itself is a huge benefit to the 
>public.  The initial cost will be lower, and the cost will fall to general 
>affordability sooner.
>
>Does the fact that the government subsidized the development of the 
>internet obligate the government to subsidize access to the 
>internet?  Clearly, the answer is no.

"M. Lazarus" replied:

>> There are practical differences between the internet and health research:

>> 1)  The 'net was developed for the use and benefit of government 
>> agencies.  It was not developed as a research project that would 
>> eventually be turned over to the commercial public.  Therefore, the ROI 
>> to the taxpayer is evident.  Piggybacking on that infrastructure is great.  
>> We receive a dual benefit.

So?  I cannot see the relevance to the point of contention, which is that items 
are developed through government funding should be made available to the public 
at little or no cost.

You are saying if a government space research project stumbles upon a treatment 
for cancer, it can be given away because it is piggybacking on the primary 
purpose of the research.  But if a government cancer treatment research project 
finds a treatment for cancer, then how exactly should that treatment be 
delivered to the public?

>> Health care research, on the other hand, does not benefit government 
>> efficiency, rather it primarily benefits several large pharmaceutical 
>> companies.  After paying for it via taxes we then we get to pay for it 
>> again through the drugs or insurance premiums.

YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING!  

The primary beneficiaries of health care research are the people whose lives 
are saved or improved with the treatments developed.  It is certainly true that 
improvements are necessary in the delivery infrastructure and there are huge 
issues in how health care costs are paid.  But to say that the pharmaceutical 
companies are the biggest beneficiaries is ridiculous.

>> 2)  Health care research is an ongoing, bottomless pit.  I don't see the
>> government needing to invest much more in the internet at this point.  We 
>> do need the government's help to get the more esoteric (e.g. for the "lower 
>> priority" items) research going.  But once it gets passed along to the 
>> commercial sector we need a way to prevent the drug companies from making 
>> the public pay for it again.

Certainly, medical research will be never-ending, although I am not sure how 
that is relevant to the discussion.  Better to parallel the internet with a 
particular piece of research, such as polio prevention and treatment.  

Clearly, the "esoteric" stuff is indeed what government should be working on.  
The stuff that has financial ROI don't need governmental funding; almost 
certainly the private sector will do it cheaper.  There is plenty of capitalist 
incentive to find the next Viagra, but not much to cure Tay-Sachs or Spina 
Bifida.  The public should be finding things that wouldn't make sense for a 
private company to develop.  With that in mind, we should assume that the 
government isn't going to recover those funds.

The fruits of publicly-funded research should have pricing structures that 
allow for reasonable profits, but that is fairly easy to do without price 
controls or heavy-handed governmental intervention.  The equivalent of 
open-source for pharmaceuticals should do the trick, let lots of people make 
the drug or device, and the market will price it properly.

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