Socialized Medicine – Where’s the Incentive for Innovation?

HolisticSurvival.comMillions of Americans faced with the prospect of paying for a high-priced miracle drug find themselves between a rock and a hard place. While the cost of of the medicine might seem ludicrously high, and tempt one to lean slightly towards the socialized medicine solution offered by the Obama administration, stop to consider that without the profit motive in place it’s very likely the Big Drug company would never have bothered to develop it in the first place.

Of course the fact that so many modern drugs are priced completely beyond the reach of the average wage earner introduces a twist to our staunchly anti-government price controls stance. Still, at Holistic Survival, we believe it is always advisable to err on the side of freedom and pure economic markets.

The cold, hard truth is that having access to the latest and greatest in miracle drugs is not the God given right of a citizen. The formula was developed at considerable expense and over a long period of time by a company who had no idea if the gamble would eventually pay off financially in the form of enough profit to fund the next round of miracle research.

Here’s something that fans of socialized medicine should ask themselves. When was the last time the government laid claim to a great invention, product, or service? In fact, when was the last time the government did ANYTHING even remotely innovative? True, that’s not necessarily their role but neither should it be their role to stifle innovation by applying price controls to the medical industry.

Life is tough and sometimes people get short shrift through no fault of their own. We’re still looking for the piece of paper that guarantees good health for every American at little to no expense of their own. The choice is simple. In this corner a world where entrepreneurs and inventors are allowed free rein to astound us all with leaps forward in medical technology, and sometimes the results are high dollar. In that corner a disincentivized system that offers a pitifully few number of choices at low cost, and improves the quality of life of just a few.

We choose innovation.

The Holistic Survival Team

Flickr / US Army Africa