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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple style='word-wrap:break-word'><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div style='border:none;border-top:solid #E1E1E1 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in'><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>From:</span></b><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'> John Clark <johnkclark@gmail.com> <br><b>Subject:</b> Re: [ExI] Why is “cost of living” such a big problem?<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'>On Fri, Nov 6, 2026 at 5:38 PM <<a href="mailto:spike@rainier66.com">spike@rainier66.com</a>> wrot<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><blockquote style='border:none;border-left:solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt;padding:0in 0in 0in 6.0pt;margin-left:4.8pt;margin-right:0in'><div><blockquote style='border:none;border-left:solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt;padding:0in 0in 0in 6.0pt;margin-left:4.8pt;margin-top:5.0pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:5.0pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><i><span style='font-family:"Georgia",serif'> </span></i><span class=m8287263918194440273gmaildefault><i><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'>></span></i></span><span class=gmaildefault><i><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'>>></span></i></span><span class=m8287263918194440273gmaildefault><i><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'> </span></i></span><i><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif'>Ours is the second worst system for supporting medical research, better only than everything else. </span></i><o:p></o:p></p></blockquote><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'> <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><b><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif'>></span></b><span class=gmaildefault><b><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'>></span></b></span><b><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif'>…Obviously that is dead wrong</span></b><span class=m8287263918194440273gmaildefault><b><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'>.</span></b></span><b><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif'> Denmark has a <span class=m8287263918194440273gmaildefault><u>VASTLY</u> </span>superior system<span class=m8287263918194440273gmaildefault>, as does every technological nation on the planet. </span></span></b><span class=gmaildefault><b><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'> </span></b></span><b><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif'>John K Clark</span></b><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span class=gmaildefault><i><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'>> </span></i></span><i><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif'>USA is in dead last at medical research, right John? </span></i><o:p></o:p></p></div></blockquote><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif'>>…You are not playing fair because that is not what I said.<span class=gmaildefault> </span> You claimed</span></b><span class=gmaildefault><b><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'> </span></b></span><b><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif'>that for mysterious<span class=gmaildefault> </span>reasons<u> you were never able to articulate</u><span class=gmaildefault>, whatever country that does the most medical research the consumers of that country, <u>and them alone,</u> must pay for the <u>entire</u> research and development and manufacturing costs of <u>every</u> drug in existence….</span></span></b><b><span style='font-size:18.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif'> <span class=gmaildefault>John K Clark </span> </span></b><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span class=gmaildefault><b><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span class=gmaildefault><b><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span class=gmaildefault><b><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif'>So really what we are talking about his how to make other countries pay their share of the cost of research, not that medical research as a profit-driven enterprise is a bad idea. Is that it? OK, that’s a good question. <o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span class=gmaildefault><b><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span class=gmaildefault><b><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif'>Since the cost of medication is mostly the cost of the intellectual property content, there is no good way I can see to restrict import/export on it. My best guess is to import all those medications from every technological nation you are claiming is vastly superior, then just use their medications for those who have no health insurance.<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span class=gmaildefault><b><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span class=gmaildefault><b><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif'>spike <o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span class=gmaildefault><b><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span class=gmaildefault><b><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></body></html>