Mr. Whitehead at the Rutherford Institute justly complains about the skyrocketing cost of medications, then implores his readers
to seek solutions from the morons who got us into this mess. My reply follows.
Dear Mr. Whitehead,
I share your outrage about the Gestapo-like tactics of the FDA. But, honestly, what did you expect from a federal agency? The
government is not a collection of able-bodied, beneficent angels. They like to control people, and willingly use their monopoly
powers on the use of violence to compel others to their will. It has been this way for thousands of years and it won't change
until human nature itself changes.
The moral of this story is that all government is potentially destructive and deadly, and the more power it amasses, the more
havoc it can wreak on the innocent. We can assume that our esteemed "public servants" are rascals, and that they will abuse
their authority at the first opportunity. To rely on Leviathan to solve our problems requires a healthy dose of naiveté, to say
the least. Government's elimination is preferred, but if nothing else it should be broken up, decentralized, and dispersed. A
mayor or city council member can only do so much damage; a president can exact untold misery on us all.
Now that we've identified the culprits in society, why on earth would you advise your readers to run to the president and
Congress for answers? They're the ones who made the drug situation what it is today! They are the ones that created the FDA
and gave it the power over people's access to drugs. It is the FDA's stranglehold on medical advances that makes new medicines,
products and procedures so prohibitively expensive. That other countries have lower drug prices is merely supply and demand
in action. To whine about the price disparity is like howling at the moon. It might make you feel better, but it doesn't solve
the problem. Nor will implicit calls for price ceilings accomplish your objective - unless you are willing to trade short-term
price reductions for long-term devastation of the bio-medical industry that gives us the very drugs that give us a higher quality of
life.
It doesn't take a Ph.D. in economics to understand that the best way to counteract high prices is to increase its supply. So
anything that increases production is a good thing. Elimination of the Food and Drug Administration would be an excellent first
step. This evil organization is responsible for countless deaths and much suffering since its inception. It assumes powers nobody
should have over the very lives of individuals. It has no right to dictate to people what they can do with their own bodies, for if
we do not own ourselves, we are mere slaves to the state.