Something to think about

[jerrygarcia]

Think about it. (Americans)

A car company can move its factories to Mexico and claim it's a free market.


A toy company can outsource to a Chinese subcontractor and claim it's a free market.


A major bank can incorporate in Bermuda to avoid taxes and claim it's a free market.


We can buy HP Printers made in Mexico. We can buy shirts made in Bangladesh.


We can purchase almost anything we want from many different countries BUT, heaven help the elderly who dare to buy their prescription drugs from a Canadian (Or Mexico) pharmacy. That's called un-American!


And you think the pharmaceutical companies don't have a powerful lobby?


Think again!


Don't forget about all the trash we import from Canada to Michigan...........

[whitebeard21]

Don't forget the Mexican produce irrigated with sewer water and infected with coliforum.

[Pexster]

Don't forget the sugar market, which is totally distorted due to our protectionist policies. It's a "free market" unless it p***es off someone with influence. Unfortunately, that's anyone with enough money to hire a good lobbyist.

[osprey4]

Thank the FDA. They make the rules.

[MTAtech]

The FDA doesn't make trade rules. The reason most food products are sweetened with corn syrup and not sugar is because corn syrup is cheaper. It is cheaper because of trade restrictions on importing sugar.

The rule on foreign drugs is written right in Bush's Medicare Bill.

[Beemer]

And don't forget why they are coming here for the drugs. The cost of med's in the US are triple or more, than the Canadian equivilent. It's the drug companies that are pushing the market northward.

Cheers!

[osprey4]

I thought the topic was importation of pharmaceuticals.

Anyway, to inject a few facts into this debate...

By Spencer Swartz SAN FRANCISCO, Jan 27 (Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, with its costly and time-consuming drug approval process, is a big reason Americans pay far more for medicine than consumers in the rest of the world, U.S. Nobel laureate Milton Friedman said on Tuesday.

And here is a sobering reminder of why a strong US pharm industry helps Americans...

DAVOS, Switzerland (Dow Jones)--In a bid to save billions of euros in healthcare costs, European governments have "gutted" their pharmaceutical industry and slowed patient care by squeezing lower medicine prices out of drugs companies, according to consultancy Bain & Co.

"What we've seen is the pharmaceutical industry leaving Europe in droves," said McKinnell, citing Franco-German company Aventis SA (AVS) and Switzerland's Novartis AG (NVS) as two European companies focusing their futures on the U.S.

But Bain reckons the actual cost goes beyond this.

For example, it claims Germany saved $19 billion by spending less than the U.S. on healthcare in 2002, but lost $22 billion in reduced R&D investment and drug innovations, lost wages from high added-value jobs, disappearing R&D centers and poor health.

[osprey4]

Originally posted by Beemer
And don't forget why they are coming here for the drugs. The cost of med's in the US are triple or more, than the Canadian equivilent. It's the drug companies that are pushing the market northward.

The difference between US and Canadian prices, taking out the currency exchange, is on average less than 15%. More for brands, less for generics.

[whitebeard21]

Acording to the state paid commercial running on tv here in Florida the Canadian drugs are sold by a bunch of fly by nighters.
Of course what would you expect from a Bush. Brother John has to support brother Georgie and all those pharmacutical campaign contributions.
His name at birth was John not Jeb, that was changed to corner the panhandle redneck vote.
The drugs sold in Canada are the same as the ones sold in the states, made by the same companies. The savings including shipping on brand name R/x to Florida averages 30-40 % . Why do you think Canadian drug stores are popping up every where here in central Florida?

[osprey4]

Not to rain on your assumptions, Bill Clinton got far more pharm bucks than either of his opponents. Look at the "special interest" money going to federal elections and pharmaceutical company contributions aren't even in the top ten among campaign donors. In fact, they are dwarfed by unions, trial lawyers, etc.