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Politics : View from the Center and Left -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Lane3 who wrote (13309)	2/25/2006 3:51:15 PM
From: epicure	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 541488

I'm ok with not allowing the free disbursement of soda, and potato chips- even if people want it- just as I don't favor the free disbursement of Jack Daniels and Cigarettes in hospitals, no matter how much patients might want it. If crack were legal, I think I'd prefer hospitals not to give that away either. If you start giving formula to a baby in the hospital, odds are the baby won't nurse- because if you don't nurse right away your milk will dry up, and the baby won't want to nurse, because bottles are so much easier (and I agree that it seems to give forumla the stamp of approval with the hospital giving it away)- and so with free formula at the outset you are setting up a structural incentive to get mothers not to nurse, even though nursing is better for babies and mothers. It's not easy to nurse in this society, and most women are glaringly ignorant about nursing, and about the difficulties of first time nursing - so to further erode the number of women nursing by offering formula in the hospital for free seems just stupid, from a public policy perspective. Great law. I'm all for it.

To: Lane3 who wrote (13309)	2/25/2006 3:55:31 PM
From: epicure	Respond to of 541488

You want a poster child? Take the criminalization of pot, and the attendant incarcerations of US citizens, and the confiscation of property. (But FYI I don't want them giving pot to new mothers at the hospital either- sends the wrong message, even if a joint at 2am when you're stuck with a collicky baby might be just what the doctor ordered)

To: Lane3 who wrote (13309)	2/25/2006 9:14:38 PM
From: thames_sider	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 541488

That seems fine. So, hospitals distribute free baby formula. Totally free, right? No strings, no limitations, and out of the sheer goodness of their hearts there will be formula milk distributed forever to all who want it, no charge and no restrictions? No? So, explain again why formula milk might be distributed for free on a limited basis. Not at all like giving, say, an introductory line of marching powder, or a free shot of special E? it's called predatory pricing: the temporary distribution of a product below cost, or at least below general cost, to drive a competitor out of business and so achieve a local monopoly of supply. A refinement is to simply leveeage bulk product costs to equip a local store with goods at 10% below the competitive local prices.... until other outles are deceased. Of course, no company would ever exploit this situation for extra profits? Indeed they'd never even notice, would they?