Steve Randy Waldman
@interfluidity.com
Text: It is a sign of how corrupt political debate has become that these patent monopolies, which are equivalent to tariffs of many thousand percent, are referred to as the “free market” in most discussions. Patent monopolies have a clear public purpose, to promote innovation, but they are nonetheless a major form of government intervention in the market. These government-granted monopolies cost us around $500 billion a year in the case of prescription drugs ($4,000 per family). They are not the free market.