The Socialator

So our little Activist Governor has "concerns" with Pfizer's drug prices? Would somebody please remind Pawlenty that he is a Republican and not some goofed-out Dem?

I heard on NPR this morning that he is going to attend Pfizer's shareholder's meeting and air his concerns about the cost of its drugs. Naturally, NPR only mentioned that this would be problematic because it could affect the price of their stock, failing to note the true problem with this lame-brained idea: if you try to curtail the prices drug companies charge, there will be less new, life-saving drugs available.

The FDA approved 23 new drugs last year. That's it. How many drugs were attempted, that may have died in clinical trials? Thousands. And the average price for a drug to get developed is $800 million. What that means is the drugs that DO make it to market must be priced high enough to cover the majority of the ones that did not make it.

Yes, drugs are expensive. But it's not because the fat cats at the drug companies are lining their pockets. If you want affective, safe, life-enhancing drugs you have to let the market do its thing.

Pawlenty--knowing that going against the free market is not considered terribly cool amongst Repubs--is attempting a sneaky political move: instead of just trying to enact legislation saying Pfizer can only charge so much for drugs, he is acting like he's a simple shareholder who is going to tell them big businessmen what he thinks of 'em. Of course, being a governor he gets a little more coverage than the average Sally Housegoat that might try this, but...

Pawlenty's main beef seems to be that the United States maintains a (relatively) free market system with regard to drug prices and since other countries don't, the maker of the drugs should change how they do things. Not anyone else. Pfizer charges Americans what it would charge every other person in the world were they not living under socialist governments who protect them from high prices from the big bad drug companies.

The reason Minnesotans can get drugs in Canada cheaper is that the Canadian government subsidizes the cost of the drugs and makes Pfizer charge them less. Pfizer agrees to these anti-free market conditions because it knows that the Americans will cover more than their fair share of the drug's costs since they don't benefit from price controls.

So is this unfair? To Pawlenty it is. But his debate should be either with Pfizer for agreeing to sell drugs to Canadians at below market prices, with the Canadians themselves for being socialist, or with the US for not being socialist. Since the second and third options are ridiculous and he wouldn't get any populist bang for his buck with the first, instead he is telling Pfizer he is "concerned" with their prices.

Well cram it with walnuts governor. We didn't elect no lefty and while we'd all like lower prices on stuff we really need, this ain't the way to do it.