4 ms·

I remember when Michael J Fox announced that he had Parkinson’s in 1998 https://www.michaeljfox.org/michaels-story https://www.michaeljfox.org/michaels-story

I remember when Michael J Fox announced that he had Parkinson’s in 1998 https://www.michaeljfox.org/michaels-story https://www.michaeljfox.org/michaels-story He started his foundation to treat/cure the disease. Somehow I thought we’d have had made more progress in 25 years. I also find it interesting to look back at the US national debt and wonder how the world would have been different if we invested more of that into research (e.g medical, pure science, etc) In 1998, the national debt was $5.5 trillion and today is $30 trillion.

deleted 5y ago
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jotm 5y ago
The research is there, some promising results, too. It just never gets to the people who need it. OK, maybe it will in another 20 years. "What if the side effects are bad, we need more testing". How about you let those who suffer decide? No? OK then.
- melling 5y ago
  We’ll eventually cure Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, cancer(s). Maybe in 20, maybe in 50,… Like money compounding over time, more invested in research would likely compound over time. For example, all the science and technology we will have by the year 2100 could be had by 2050 if we invested $X more over the next 28 years?
- whatshisface 5y ago
  We have a problem where approved = mandatory for Medicare to cover, so that even if you are willing to independently pay for whatever special medication or treatment you want to take a chance on, letting you do it would mean (because of poorly-thought-through regulations) buying one for everyone with the same condition whether it turned out to work for you or not. There's an enormous incentive for regulators to act as doctors, deciding what to prescribe, rather than as safety testers keeping obvious poisons out.
hgomersall 5y ago
The "national debt" is just non governmental wealth. It's an accounting artifact. The fact that interest is paid on most of it is entirely through choice. Edit: The point is the policy space available to you has nothing to do with national debt and everything to do with politics, the same in the past as now.
maxerickson 5y ago
My mom has Parkinson's. The thing that causes the symptoms is brain cells dying at an abnormally fast rate. It's really hard to treat cells dying from poorly understood causes. The foundation has helped get a number of new drugs approved to help with the symptoms.

deleted 5y ago

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jotm 5y ago

The research is there, some promising results, too. It just never gets to the people who need it. OK, maybe it will in another 20 years. "What if the side effects are bad, we need more testing". How about you let those who suffer decide? No? OK then.

melling 5y ago
We’ll eventually cure Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, cancer(s). Maybe in 20, maybe in 50,… Like money compounding over time, more invested in research would likely compound over time. For example, all the science and technology we will have by the year 2100 could be had by 2050 if we invested $X more over the next 28 years?
whatshisface 5y ago
We have a problem where approved = mandatory for Medicare to cover, so that even if you are willing to independently pay for whatever special medication or treatment you want to take a chance on, letting you do it would mean (because of poorly-thought-through regulations) buying one for everyone with the same condition whether it turned out to work for you or not. There's an enormous incentive for regulators to act as doctors, deciding what to prescribe, rather than as safety testers keeping obvious poisons out.

hgomersall 5y ago

The "national debt" is just non governmental wealth. It's an accounting artifact. The fact that interest is paid on most of it is entirely through choice. Edit: The point is the policy space available to you has nothing to do with national debt and everything to do with politics, the same in the past as now.

maxerickson 5y ago

My mom has Parkinson's. The thing that causes the symptoms is brain cells dying at an abnormally fast rate. It's really hard to treat cells dying from poorly understood causes. The foundation has helped get a number of new drugs approved to help with the symptoms.