I was introduced to Zaylore Stout, or Zee as we call him, by a mutual friend. We were at the Soma Street Food Park and our conversation over lunch was mostly political. I recognized that he is a bright and committed progressive.
Flash forward to the tragedy of last November, when the incoherent psychopath that is Donald Trump surprised so many of us by winning a majority of the electoral college. In the days and weeks that followed, it became clear to me that sitting around and complaining isn't enough. We need to do something. But what?
Then I heard that Zee is running for a city council position in his adopted home of St. Louis Park Minnesota. City council? It is a starting point. Ideas, movements, begin at the local level. So do politicians. And he is certainly young enough to begin at that level.
So I looked at my work schedule, I looked at my accrued vacation, and I decided that I could spare a week to knock on doors. So that's where I am now. I have been knocking on doors, and last night I was editing a video of the endorsement he received from the outgoing council member who's seat he is seeking. That is now uploaded to his campaign Facebook and YouTube accounts.
It is time now to go out and knock on some more doors. What are you doing to fight facism?
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Monday, August 7, 2017
Wednesday, May 17, 2017
Link the length of the patents to drug prices
First of all, we all know drug companies do not pour millions of dollars into developing new drugs out of the kindness of their cold, cold hearts. They do it in order to make money. And if they were not such assholes about it, that would be perfectly OK.
All of the stockholders deserve a return on their investment. All of the employees deserve to be paid. The millions of dollars the companies invest need to be recouped, as do the millions spent on drugs that are never successful. Major advances are only made after many failures. All that money has to come from somewhere, and the successes need to pay for that.
So my thought is this. Let's start with a baseline 20 years for a patent. That is the maximum number of years the company can have exclusive rights to their new drug, and it is 20 years after approval. That can become a shorter period of time, based upon how much they charge for the drug.
Now I am not talking about what the price of the drug is, I am talking about the margin, the cost over the cost of manufacturing and the cost of amortizing all of the expenses incurred in developing it. If you recover the cost in less that 10 years, then you lose a year off the patent life for each year before 10 that you pay off that cost.
And after the development costs have been amortized, you are allowed a markup over the cost of production and distribution (which may rise or fall) of 60 percent. If you go over that for two consecutive quarters you lose another year, but you can only lose one year in any 4 quarters. An exception might be if you go over 100 percent for 2 consecutive quarters some kind of tax kicks in.
In the cost that is being amortized, failed projects can be rolled in, but there are a few caveats.
1. The company can split the cost of any failed development effort between more than one successful drug or pay for all of it from one drug. But that total cost can only be assigned once.
2. In order to write off the cost of a failed development effort, any patents on that drug go into public domain.
3. Salaries of the 5 five highest paid employees are not included in those costs. That means the shareholders pay for the CEO's 20 million dollar salary and plus stock options.
I know this isn't perfect and it isn't a complete plan. But it is a new way of looking at things. A patent is issued by the government granting exclusive rights to produce something. Often the foundation of that something was paid for by government grants to basic research. So you and I paid for some of the research and development that went into that drug.
Drug companies need to make a profit, and they need to be willing to fail. They need to be willing to risk their shareholder's money on a possibility. And when they do discover something that is worth bringing to market, they need to be able to recoup the losses of all the failures and somehow come out ahead. The trick is to give them the incentive to do that and still make those drugs affordable.
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All of the stockholders deserve a return on their investment. All of the employees deserve to be paid. The millions of dollars the companies invest need to be recouped, as do the millions spent on drugs that are never successful. Major advances are only made after many failures. All that money has to come from somewhere, and the successes need to pay for that.
So my thought is this. Let's start with a baseline 20 years for a patent. That is the maximum number of years the company can have exclusive rights to their new drug, and it is 20 years after approval. That can become a shorter period of time, based upon how much they charge for the drug.
Now I am not talking about what the price of the drug is, I am talking about the margin, the cost over the cost of manufacturing and the cost of amortizing all of the expenses incurred in developing it. If you recover the cost in less that 10 years, then you lose a year off the patent life for each year before 10 that you pay off that cost.
And after the development costs have been amortized, you are allowed a markup over the cost of production and distribution (which may rise or fall) of 60 percent. If you go over that for two consecutive quarters you lose another year, but you can only lose one year in any 4 quarters. An exception might be if you go over 100 percent for 2 consecutive quarters some kind of tax kicks in.
In the cost that is being amortized, failed projects can be rolled in, but there are a few caveats.
1. The company can split the cost of any failed development effort between more than one successful drug or pay for all of it from one drug. But that total cost can only be assigned once.
2. In order to write off the cost of a failed development effort, any patents on that drug go into public domain.
3. Salaries of the 5 five highest paid employees are not included in those costs. That means the shareholders pay for the CEO's 20 million dollar salary and plus stock options.
I know this isn't perfect and it isn't a complete plan. But it is a new way of looking at things. A patent is issued by the government granting exclusive rights to produce something. Often the foundation of that something was paid for by government grants to basic research. So you and I paid for some of the research and development that went into that drug.
Drug companies need to make a profit, and they need to be willing to fail. They need to be willing to risk their shareholder's money on a possibility. And when they do discover something that is worth bringing to market, they need to be able to recoup the losses of all the failures and somehow come out ahead. The trick is to give them the incentive to do that and still make those drugs affordable.
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Sunday, March 12, 2017
How much do they really believe in what they have created?
The right wing of America has finally achieved the holy grail of American politics. They control the house. the senate, and the presidency. Now they will attempt to remake America in their own image.
Of couse my take on this is, we are all screwed. It is a return to the 'good old days' when there were no child labor laws, when the police would attack organized labor, and there were no standards for food or water quality, and whether you were injured by unsafe working conditions on the job or poisened by contaminated food or water, you had no recourse.
So as their signature accomplishment they are preparing to strip away health insurance from many and make it more expensive for many of the rest of us. So if they want to prove to the American people that they are really working in our best interests, there is a very simple solution.
All of congress should make themselves participants in Trumpcare. Eliminate the generous health plan granted to all members of congress and their families, and let them pay for insurance, as individuals, not in a group plan, the way many of the rest of us have been.
You think what you are doing is a great idea? As part of the legislation, take your own medicine.
Of couse my take on this is, we are all screwed. It is a return to the 'good old days' when there were no child labor laws, when the police would attack organized labor, and there were no standards for food or water quality, and whether you were injured by unsafe working conditions on the job or poisened by contaminated food or water, you had no recourse.
So as their signature accomplishment they are preparing to strip away health insurance from many and make it more expensive for many of the rest of us. So if they want to prove to the American people that they are really working in our best interests, there is a very simple solution.
All of congress should make themselves participants in Trumpcare. Eliminate the generous health plan granted to all members of congress and their families, and let them pay for insurance, as individuals, not in a group plan, the way many of the rest of us have been.
You think what you are doing is a great idea? As part of the legislation, take your own medicine.
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