[ExI] ehhh, what? do explain please.

[BillK]

On Fri, 17 Jun 2022 at 20:35, William Flynn Wallace via extropy-chat
<extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org> wrote:
>
> Would you like to take a guess at the ratio in Washington of the amount of money exchanged over the table, so to speak, and under the table?
>
> This sort of thing is surely old hat.  How much money does a Senator get to take out of campaign funds for personal use?  Happens all the time.  How much money does he get for passing bills for his constituents?  We criticize the rest of the world for the amount of bribery that is involved in daily business, but we do it too.
>
> In short I am surprised that you are surprised.  bill w
>
> _______________________________________________


I was also surprised at Spike's quaint surprise at the thought of
government corruption.
About half the funding of the FDA itself comes via 'fees' from Big Pharma.
The FDA committee advisers are supposed to declare any conflict of
interest. Royalty payments may be hidden, but there are ways round
this declaration. Payments made AFTER the approval decision are not
vetted. (Speaking fees, consultancy, research, expenses, etc.).
See:
<https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/02/opinion/fda-drug-approval-trust.html>
and
<https://www.science.org/content/article/hidden-conflicts-pharma-payments-fda-advisers-after-drug-approvals-spark-ethical>


BillK