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Biden launches action on "Big Tech, Big Pharma, and Big Ag" – can it be real?

mattstoller.substack.com

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Re: Biden launches action on "Big Tech, Big Pharma, and Big Ag" – can it be real?

#101

Post by ModernMech »

revscat wrote: post #90
giantg2 wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Only for billing cost of procedures. It's still a mess. Did you know that hospitals make money by using name brand medications? They will get a contract with a brand, like Motrin, and charge you full price at $8 a pill. Then Motrin will will evaluate how much the hospital used and give them a big rebate to bring the hospital's cost down under $1 per pill. You can literally buy a bottle of ibuprofen for what they char…

I’m not sure what your point is. These contracts between seller and merchant were voluntary. There are other hospitals available should you choose, and if not then you have no one to blame but yourself.

> These contracts between seller and merchant were voluntary.

I'm guessing you've never been placed on an involuntary psych hold, or woken up at a hospital after an accident left you incapacitated.

Re: Biden launches action on "Big Tech, Big Pharma, and Big Ag" – can it be real?

#102

Post by thoughtstheseus »

seattle_spring wrote: post #97
dkdk8283 wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We must free ourselves from censorship.

Moderation is not censorship.

If there is no viable alternative then it’s censorship. Put the power of moderation in the hands of people, create a market for it, that’s a winning strategy.

Re: Biden launches action on "Big Tech, Big Pharma, and Big Ag" – can it be real?

#103

Post by PoignardAzur »

giantg2 wrote: post #45
ISL wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Queue "overpowered OTC aids destroyed my hearing" pushback...

Is that really going to be a thing? Earbuds have been out for a long time and are easily capable of destroying hearing.

As someone with a relative who install these: yeah, it can be a thing.

The gap between "too soft, doesn't help you hear" and "too loud, damages your hearing" can be narrow.

Usually it's more of a problem in the other direction, with doctors playing it safe and tamping down the aid to the point of uselessness.

Re: Biden launches action on "Big Tech, Big Pharma, and Big Ag" – can it be real?

#104

Post by tomc1985 »

alisonkisk wrote: post #92
mschuster91 wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> There are dozens of companies who would no doubt start making inexpensive hearing aids tomorrow. Absent government regulation, they already would be. And with the lack of certification requirement, someone will start cutting corners to make an extra chunk of profit. Just imagine a faulty hearing aid that fails while a person is driving, and the person causing an accident as a result. Good luck suing anyone over tha…

Hearing is not required to safely operate a vehicle. And why wouldn't someone be able to sue successfully?

What? Driving with headphones is forbidden where I am. And at minimum you need to be able to hear a carhorn.

Re: Biden launches action on "Big Tech, Big Pharma, and Big Ag" – can it be real?

#105

Post by dralley »

revscat wrote: post #90
giantg2 wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Only for billing cost of procedures. It's still a mess. Did you know that hospitals make money by using name brand medications? They will get a contract with a brand, like Motrin, and charge you full price at $8 a pill. Then Motrin will will evaluate how much the hospital used and give them a big rebate to bring the hospital's cost down under $1 per pill. You can literally buy a bottle of ibuprofen for what they char…

I’m not sure what your point is. These contracts between seller and merchant were voluntary. There are other hospitals available should you choose, and if not then you have no one to blame but yourself.

The hospital you end up in is not a free market and usually it's not even a choice. Anyone who who gets in a car accident, falls off a roof, has a heart attack will be lucky to still be conscious when the ambulance picks them up, much less in a state of mind to be considering the relative merits.

Re: Biden launches action on "Big Tech, Big Pharma, and Big Ag" – can it be real?

#106

Post by the_third_wave »

toomuchtodo wrote: post #56
ISL wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Queue "overpowered OTC aids destroyed my hearing" pushback...

Bose’s hearing aids were recently approved by the FDA, and they’re only $850. The APM Marketplace program recently covered this development and the hearing aid monopoly. The sky isn’t going to fall. https://www.npr.org/podcasts/381444600/marketplace https://www.bose.com/en_us/products/headphones/earbuds/sound...

> Bose’s hearing aids were recently approved by the FDA, and they’re only $850.

Only $850? That is a new use of the word only as far as I'm concerned. These things, which are in many ways similar to if not identical with bluetooth earbuds should not cost more than those - and given the fact that Apple managed to convince people that $200 is a normal price for these things that should leave more than enough margin for an unhealthy profit margin seeing as how the ones I'm using cost ⅐ of that while achieving a longer battery life.

Re: Biden launches action on "Big Tech, Big Pharma, and Big Ag" – can it be real?

#107

Post by bpodgursky »

throwawayswede wrote: post #54
deregulateMed wrote: post #35

Big pharma is significantly less of a problem than the physician and hospital cartels. I have no idea why these groups have survived scrutiny for their literal multi-hundred million dollar lobbying/bribery of politicians. My closest guess is that we all know "My" physician or a well paid nurse that benefits from the bribery.

They're part of the same mafia, Pharmaceutical Research & Manufacturers of America spent $8664000 in 2021 only on lobbying. https://www.opensecrets.org/federal-lobbying/top-spenders

Do you think this is a big number? $8mm across a huge industry is barely enough to get a legal team out of bed. This is really pocket change.

Re: Biden launches action on "Big Tech, Big Pharma, and Big Ag" – can it be real?

#108

Post by throwaway5752 »

giantg2 wrote: post #69
throwaway5752 wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It was not great before patents when a big company could steal your work and put you out of business after you put in the R&D effort.

Yeah, that used to be the point of patents. Now it seems it's mostly to squeeze as much out of people by capturing the majority of the market by not allowing similar products. I mean, we have CEOs of biomedical companies admitting that they aren't basing prices off of what it costs to research, develop, and deliver a therapy, but rather base it off of what a deaparare person is willing to pay for it. This is the very…

Agreed? Patents are being misused. We should fix that. Patents fixed gross injustices when they were created, and we shouldn't forget that, either. Software is probably the worst example of a field for patents and I think the case for patenting algorithms or design is dicey. But if you sink 100M into drug R&D, a novel type of medical device, or a new type of semiconductor CVD process you should have some protection against reverse engineering from competition for a period of time.

Since the problem seems to come a lot, maybe the problem is the role of money in politics and we should address the root cause. Just a thought.

Re: Biden launches action on "Big Tech, Big Pharma, and Big Ag" – can it be real?

#109

Post by toomuchtodo »

the_third_wave wrote: post #106
toomuchtodo wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bose’s hearing aids were recently approved by the FDA, and they’re only $850. The APM Marketplace program recently covered this development and the hearing aid monopoly. The sky isn’t going to fall. https://www.npr.org/podcasts/381444600/marketplace https://www.bose.com/en_us/products/headphones/earbuds/sound...

> Bose’s hearing aids were recently approved by the FDA, and they’re only $850. Only $850? That is a new use of the word only as far as I'm concerned. These things, which are in many ways similar to if not identical with bluetooth earbuds should not cost more than those - and given the fact that Apple managed to convince people that $200 is a normal price for these things that should leave more than enough margin for…

Traditionally, the cost for hearing aids runs in the thousands of dollars. Perfect is the enemy of good enough, progress takes time.

Re: Biden launches action on "Big Tech, Big Pharma, and Big Ag" – can it be real?

#110

Post by cD2nmRoHAbI »

slg wrote: post #79
lotsofpulp wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> For example, most of the big tech monopolies do not exist because of regulatory capture. They exist because the government never put in enough effort to stop the monopolies from forming. Is it possible they exist because the immense economies of scale and near zero marginal cost that software provides makes for a winner take all market? As a customer, why would one use the 2nd best option, when the best option is a…

Well yes, that is the "Depending on the market" part I mentioned in the sentence before the one you quoted. Some markets have traits that are more likely to lead to natural monopolies. A government acting in the best interest of its citizens would usually work on creating regulation in these markets to discourage monopolies.

Quoting: 'Markets have traits'

[sings] ♪♫ IN REAL LIFE WE ARE ALL ZONED IN SPACES ♫♪ (-:

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