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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: geode00 who wrote (263554)	5/7/2008 2:52:04 AM
From: mistermj	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

Can you provide one real world example of this? Your Walmart fixation is weird. I have yet to see Walmart put up a store in a city so small that it just pushes out all competition. I can think of 20 Walmarts I've been to, in multiple states, with multiple demographics. You seem to be pushing a scenario that just doesn't exist in the real world. You fail to understand that if Walmart is your only source for staples, you have little choice but to shop there. When other stores are put out of business, Walmart is an effective monopoly.

To: geode00 who wrote (263554)	5/7/2008 1:15:16 PM
From: bentway	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

I shop at WalMart for some things. Without their $4 for 30 generic prescriptions, I'd be paying hundreds more in drug costs. I was grocery shopping there, and still get some things. A side effect is that they've forced my neighborhood market (also a large chain) to cut their prices, and now I've returned and buy most of my groceries there.

To: geode00 who wrote (263554)	5/14/2008 12:14:21 PM
From: TimF	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

You fail to understand that if Walmart is your only source for staples You fail to understand, or choose to ignore, the fact that such a situation is rarely, or if your really strict about "only source", never, the case. No, providing free samples is advertising and they may or may not benefit anyone. In fact, many drugs hurt people and sometimes kill them. Yes free or purchased drugs can harm and kill, but they help and heal to a greater extent. At any rate, these are not full courses of drugs for poor people In some cases they are. Even if "drugs such as antibiotics are not coming to market because it is more profitable to buy politicians, try and extend patents or ply doctors with perks and freebies" was true, that doesn't imply "The profit motive PREVENTS much needed new drugs from being developed." New drugs do get developed. Research and development spending on these new drugs is massive. If the percent of this money going in to antibiotics is relatively small, that's because the other drugs are seen as a better investment. But the drugs that do get created get created mostly because of the profit motive. Take away the profit and no one is going to pour all those billions in to drug development and testing.