[ExI] Why is “cost of living” such a big problem?

[John Clark]

On Thu, Nov 5, 2026 at 12:00 PM <spike at rainier66.com> wrote:

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>> *>why in hell do drugs that were discovered and are manufactured in the
>> US cost far FAR more in the US than they do in Canada?!  Are you really
>> sure you want to defend this policy?*
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> *> Several reasons but one of them is when you buy drugs from Canada or
> Mexico, you don’t have the inventory protections in place here.  Your risk
> of getting a counterfeit drug is higher.  Even if the drugs are pure going
> out, you don’t know if someone is repackaging it with a percentage of
> counterfeits. *
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*That doesn't make any sense. If there is any difference between the two
countries in the probability of getting a dangerous counterfeit drug, then
it should be higher in the US than in Canada.  No counterfeiter would dream
of counterfeiting a one dollar bill, or any bill less than a 20, because
the risk would not be worth the reward; and the same thing would hold for a
prescription drug.  *

*Still not convinced? Well let's see what the AI made by that ultra-woke
ultra-liberal guy named Elon Musk has to say: *

*ME:  I asked somebody why so many prescription drugs were enormously more
expensive in the US than they are in Canada and he said "when you buy drugs
from Canada or Mexico, you don’t have the inventory protections in place
here.  Your risk of getting a counterfeit drug is higher." But that didn't
seem like a very good answer to me, is it really true that getting an
unsafe prescription drug in Canada is so high that it is worth paying far
more for a drug sold in the US?*

*Grok: **No, that is not a good or complete explanation*. The large price
gap between the US and Canada is driven mainly by policy and market
structure differences, not by a dramatically higher baseline risk of
counterfeit drugs in Canada’s regulated system. US brand-name prescription
drugs are typically far more expensive than in Canada and other developed
countries. Analyses (including RAND using 2022 data) have found US prices
for brand-name originator drugs around 3–4+ times higher than in comparator
countries.

This is because Canada’s Patented Medicine Prices Review Board (PMPRB)
limits what manufacturers can charge for patented drugs. Provinces and
territories negotiate collectively through the pan-Canadian Pharmaceutical
Alliance (pCPA), which increases buyer leverage. Price increases are also
constrained. The US has historically lacked equivalent nationwide controls. The
US allows freer pricing for new branded drugs and accounts for a
disproportionate share of global pharmaceutical profits, *which effectively
subsidizes innovation that benefits other countries that suppress prices.*

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*> Consider also their governments can buy drugs in huge quantities, so
> they can negotiate great deals. *
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*Laws prevent Medicare, Social Security and the US Veterans Administration
from negotiating great deals like the Canadiens have. A libertarian would
want those laws repealed. So spike, I ask again, are you a libertarian?  *

*>>> **Socialism is not constitutional.*
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>> *>> …So Medicare and Social Security are unconstitutional….*
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> *>* *Come back in six years John.  If AI doesn’t kill everybody, we must
> deal with a retirement plan which can only pay out what the taxpayers pay
> in.*
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*As usual you dodged my question. I did not ask if you thought Medicare or
Social Security were good ideas or bad, I asked if you believed they were
unconstitutional; and your lack of candor makes me believe you probably do.
If so I can't really blame you for being evasive, I'd also be embarrassed
to admit I believed in something that silly. *

* John K Clark*
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