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Bell Labs was hardly unprofitable, was it? So Merck can fund its own Bell Labs, can it not? Just invert the current typical R&D : S&M budget at any pharma ou
by photochemsyn 5y ago
Bell Labs was hardly unprofitable, was it? So Merck can fund its own Bell Labs, can it not? Just invert the current typical R&D : S&M budget at any pharma outfit, which is like 1 : 3 at present (research vs. marketing).
Yes, they may have to cut shareholder dividends, yes a more competitive market will mean lower profits. However we are talking about people's lives here, and I don't care about Merck's shareholder dividends at all in relation to that.
- b9a2cab5 5y agoAT&T was a national monopoly. Merck has a monopoly on a few drugs. The difference is huge. > lower profits... I don't care about Merck's shareholder dividends Aaand we're back to terrible incentives. You can't force people to do things that don't have incentives. Even the Soviet Union had incentives. The more you mandate regulation, the more people will find ways around it, either by finding creative ways around your regulations or just moving to other nations with more friendly policies (e.g. China, Europe). The only regulations that work are the ones where peoples' incentives are aligned with what government wants to achieve.