When you have a dictatorship, you can suspend the laws of economics. They will raise prices on all those dependent upon them. Big Pharma still relies on China to produce drugs for the US market. We need to decouple from China, Our highly compromised President will resist that.
I needed a particular drug commonly used with prostrate problems. I went to CVS and they wanted $70 for a thirty day supply.
I looked up prescriptions RX and it was $22 with another 11% off if you have their yellow card if you went to Winn Dixie. THey are ten miles away and I had to go to Publix anyway. So I tried it there.
I asked them if the matched prices and the guy said: "no" with a "non-Publix style response". LOL! THey wanted $30 so I said OK. "When can I get it.?" He said probably today. I'll have cvs send it right over.LOL!! WTH!! So right away you wonder what the hell is going on in the world of big meds!!Are these guys competitors or what? ANyway he said he would call. He never did! Five minutes ago I got yet another automated call from CVS. Unreal isn't it!! I may yet wind up at Winn Dixie!!
However!!! The drugs are all from China.
These prices are good for people but will make us even more dependent on the PRC.
Our highly compromised corporations.
"American technology still should be shielded from Chinese acquisition, especially if a large research program passes Congress.6 But far more money is heading from the US to the PRC. New American portfolio investment in China in 2016–20 approached $800 billion.7 The Department of the Treasury fails to provide sector breakdowns, so policymakers do not know if Chinese technology is being supported. To make matters worse, export control reform Congress passed in 2018, to limit technology sales, remains largely unimplemented.8 The US is not competing with China; we’re helping them.
Footnotes:
6) Speaker of the House, “Pelosi, Schumer Joint Statement on Bicameral Agreement to Conference the Senate-Passed United States Innovation and Competition Act,” press release, November 17, 2021, https://www.speaker.gov/newsroom/111721-1.
7) US Department of Treasury, “Securities (C): Annual Cross-U.S. Border Portfolio Holdings,” https://home.treasury.gov/data/treasury-international-capital-tic-system-home-page/tic-forms-instructions/securities-c-annual-cross-us-border-portfolio-holdings.
8) Not a single action has been taken to control the spread of foundational technologies. See US Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security, “Fiscal Year 2022 President’s Budget Submission,” https://www.commerce.gov/sites/default/files/2021-06/fy2022_bis_congressional_budget_justification.pdf.