FDA gives patent on public domain gout drug

Posted on October 17, 2011

The corruption in US regulatory agencies has reached a new milestone as the FDA gave URL Pharma the sole right to sell Colcrys (colchicine), a drug used to treat gout for thousands of years. Now the price of the drug has increased from $34.83 for 60 tablets to $306.86 for 60 tablets. This problem, exposed by CBS 60 Minutes, exemplifies the ever more urgent need for US regulatory agency reform that I wrote about in April 2010. We are heading down a road that can lead the FDA to authorize one company to sell all drinking water.

This blatant conflict of interest between a corporation and the agency supposed to regulate it has turned the FDA into a pipeline for favors to friends that turns US citizens into their unwitting slaves. Ending such conflicts of interest created by regulatory agencies can greatly reduce the cost of health care in the United States, in this case nearly 10 times. Ironically, many of the proposed “solutions” provided in Obamacare rely on creating similar agencies lacking proper checks and balances that will only increase prices and divide the spoils of such a corrupt system among a few more foxes. Continue reading →

Posted in Articles | 2 Comments

Solyndra and Foreclosure Rentals: When the Referee Becomes a Player

Posted on September 26, 2011

Its easy for politicians to believe promises of lobbyists.

When a referee of a football game starts choosing sides he gets fired, and Washington’s attempt to become a player rather than a referee in the U.S. economy should cause the same outrage as we would see against a football referee choosing sides. The Solyndra scandal shows how easy it is for governments to back the wrong horse when attempting to become a player, wasting millions of taxpayer dollars and creating unviable jobs when market forces are defied. The entry of the government into the rental market after it foolishly backed private home mortgages is another example of government destruction of the economy when it becomes a player.

The proper role of government vis-a-vis the economy is that of referee, not a player. Government, by its very nature, creates and enforces rule of law. The basic principle underlying governance is power. However, the basic principle that underlies an economy is the market. A market is governed by the principles of production and exchange. These are not the principles that drive a government.

Continue reading →

Posted in Articles, Economics, Government | Leave a comment

Collective Farms as a Solution to the Welfare State’s Demise?

Posted on September 14, 2011

A Radical Overhaul of Welfare

Growing Vegetables on a Modern Collective Farm

This article proposes the radical overhaul of government welfare in the United States to solve many social ills the present system creates. Instead of cash payouts and food stamps that cause social dependency, despondency, and ghettos where the poor are jammed together in cities, it is proposed that the government provide a social safety net through living on collective farms. This is a type of communism, but not communism for the entire population, only the welfare class. While providing a safety net, it would put people in a constructive setting where they could work for their sustenance or be cared for largely by others who are not employed by the private economy.

This type of system would be a modern version of the Babylonian system of temple welfare that lasted over 1,000 years and was discussed on this blog on August 16. It would dramatically reduce taxes and crime, and provide self-esteem and personal life skills necessary for employment in the private economy. It would provide a path for those who wanted to join the private economy in a productive capacity. These collective farms could both produce healthy organically-grown fruits, vegetables, and eggs and provide places for social security and long-term care for those too old or ill to work who had not adequately saved or have family who can care for them. They could be modern facilities.

This system is not a foreign concept in the United States, in fact this pretty much describes the social function of the Shaker communities that were often places of refuge for the unemployed and widowed in 19th century New England. The Shakers not only cared for their members without state funds, but were also known for their fine hand-crafted furniture. In ancient Babylon the temples may have taught basket weaving and pottery skills and earned some income from the sale of such items.

Continue reading →

Posted in Articles, Culture, Economics, Government | 5 Comments

The Word “Extremist” and the Politics of Fear

Posted on August 29, 2011

The term extremist is used to incite fear

We hear the words “extreme” and “extremist” used constantly in political discourse in the media. This word is used like swear words when people want to vent an emotional release but are unable to provide rational descriptions of what they are referring to.

He told the group to make sure they label the GOP spending cuts as “extreme.” “I always use extreme,” Schumer said. “That is what the caucus instructed me to use.”—Washington Examiner

“Extremist” is a deprecatory word to slur a political opponent, but it carries no content, only an emphasis. It does not paint an accurate description of what an opponent may think; it is not a term that can be used in scientific research; and, it is a term used to blindly scare the reader or listener away from an opponent without cause. It is a term used by liberals and conservatives alike. You might hear people say “left-wing extremist” or “right-wing extremist” when running a negative campaign against the opposing party. Continue reading →

Posted in Articles, Culture, Government | 1 Comment

Distributism and Economic Justice

Posted on August 24, 2011

Hilaire Belloc is considered a distributist

Distributism is a term commonly associated with Catholic economic theory. It seeks economic justice by promoting the widest distribution of property to the largest number of people possible. Distributism also relates to the principle of subsidiarity, which means the greatest responsibility to the lowest possible level of society. Distributism seeks to provide everyone with the means of shaping their own welfare and economic destiny.

Distributism is a form of Economic Justice the Opposite of Concentration of Wealth and Redistribution

Distributism, in its widest sense, could also apply to government and to knowledge. With respect to government, it would mean that political power is distributed widely throughout the society. The US founders championed this principle and established a constitution for the purpose of distributing and protecting the distribution of political power to all citizens. With respect to knowledge, this would mean that knowledge is distributed widely. The principle of transparency, widespread education of children, and access to knowledge through publications, books, or the internet is important for the distribution of knowledge. Distribution of power, wealth, and knowledge are all important for underpinning a republican form of democracy.

Continue reading →

Posted in Articles, Economics, F.A. Hayek, Government | 10 Comments