Posted on 10/22/2005 2:30:54 PM PDT by FormerACLUmember
Our political leaders keep telling us to fear the avian flu, and in one sense they're right: We should all be scared to death about how much damage our political leaders will do responding to the avian flu.
Whatever the risk, some good will come out of this public alarm if we use it as an opportunity to understand why the U.S. is now so poorly armed to cope with a deadly flu outbreak. The reason is that our political class has spent the past 30 years driving the vaccine industry out of business with its own virus of over-regulation, price controls, litigation and intellectual-property abuse.
The U.S. today has only three large vaccine makers--down from 37 in the 1960s. This is the reason that, as recently as 2001, there was a shortage of eight of 11 critical childhood vaccines.
The feds have also done their best to remove any financial incentive--i.e., profit--for developing new vaccines. The Vaccines For Children program, a pet project of Hillary Clinton back in her First Lady days, has been especially destructive. The program now buys more than 50% of all private vaccines, and it uses this monopsony clout to drive prices down to commodity levels.
The larger point is that if politicians want private industry to develop new cures and vaccines, they can't steal their patents or confiscate their hope of making money.
The solutions to getting more vaccines aren't complicated: Push the FDA for faster approvals, shield companies from tort robbery and get the government out of the business of buying routine vaccines. Politicians can't be held responsible for knowing when the next animal virus will strike the human race. But they will be responsible if their hostility to business leaves us unable to cope with its consequences.
(Excerpt) Read more at opinionjournal.com ...
37 manufacturers soon became 3. No research is being conducted. If the extremely lethal Avian flu mutates into human-to-human transmission, 2-15 million Americans may die. With no vaccine, their deaths will not be accidental. It will be mass murder by Hillary and her evil political party.
BTTT
Yet some think she should be president again.
Hillary ran every dirty, evil operation in the Clinton administration: ChiCom bribe money, Reno Dept. of Justice, Gorelick's Wall, etc, ad nauseum.
Already posted....
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1507113/posts
My post was first.
Only a day late. :-))
Its up to the Admin.
Yes she did. All Bill ever wanted was to have fun and get rich, in any order. She must not be allowed back in.
Oops, you are right. My post was later. However a search did not turn your post up for some reason. 8>)
I often wonder if Jonas Salk were just starting in his medical and research career today, if there would have ever been a polio vaccine...
Mark
We've been having some problems with the search feature. Hopefully it will be fixed soon.
"The larger point is that if politicians want private industry to develop new cures and vaccines, they can't steal their patents or confiscate their hope of making money."
Paging Jim Doyle, Governor of Wisconsin! Governor Doyle? Please pick up the white Courtesy Phone in the lobby! Thank you!
Any and all postings about
are welcomed!
What is the deal with Doyle? Is he your garden variety thief/fool?
If that's the case, it's gonna get awfully crowded in Ft. Marcy Park.
Hillary's 1993 totalitarian little law may make the entire US into a vast killing field. She will kill more Americans than a nuclear exchange.
Hillary cares about one thing and one thing only...Power. She doesn't care who she destroys or how many. She simply wants to be memorialized in U.S. History as the first female President on Jan. 20, 2009. What happens after Jan. 20th is inconsequential to her.
So, if her policies kill people, so what (to her)? She's got the lapdog Tired Old Media and Hollywood to propagandize us with how it's solely the fault of Bush / conservatives / Republicans / Christians. You could have her on a live video feed declaring, "I hope this flu kills all Republican children." and the media & Oprah & the NYTimes & the U.N. & Michael Moore would all claim, "Hooray! Look at her strong leadership skills and forthright candor!"
Wayne LaPierre said it best several years ago (re: gun control legislation): [paraphrasing] "Bill Clinton will let a certain percentage of people die of violent gun crimes so long as it advances his agenda."
This is the essential Clinton political template...
It amazes me this still hasn't been fixed.
Unbelievably dangerous.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.