When you take publicly funded research, which led to the creation of a life saving drug, and then turn around and put that publicly funded drug on the market for almost $2,000 you are not a market capitalist reaping the benefits from your hard work and the sweat of your brow. You are a crony capitalist, benefiting from taxpayer funded research and other legislative gifts that should have gone to benefit the American taxpayer who paid for the development of the drug.
Put more simply, you are not a capitalist. Like the the market players on Wall Street who were saved by bailouts backed by the American taxpayer after 2008, you are a crony capitalist.
The line of questioning below from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) helps us understand how Corporate America and Big Pharma has benefited from favorable government legislation.
So, yes, when you depend on the state and favorable legislation for your profits and salvation - especially if you need bailouts and a team of bankruptcy/tax attorneys to keep you afloat (you know who I'm talking about) - you're not a free market capitalist. You are a crony capitalist, and a ward of the state.
It's really that simple.
- Mark
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