Bandow, Cato, and Drug “Reimportation”

I guess that I am reluctant to pile onto Bandow, given I do not know all of the story, and Bandow has written some good things over the years.

As for the “reimportation” debate, it was a fraud all along. The idea that the U.S. could somehow “reimport” drugs from Canada was a non-starter, as it fed upon the fallacy of costs determining prices. (I am surprised that so many people who say they are of Austrian bent fell for this one.) Second, if drugs are shipped out of Canada, then there are fewer drugs left for Canadians, which would mean massive shortages, given that the Canadian government would have kept the same price controls that make drugs artificially “cheap” there in the first place.

I’m not familiar with Bandow’s line of argument on the “reimportation” issue, but I would hope that people understand that this never was a viable option in the first place, so to condemn Bandow for being against this stupid idea is pretty lame, in my book. I do not think that Bandow was being “protectionist” in the classic sense, and I am reluctant to accuse someone of “protectionism” when they have made a career of standing for free trade.

Again, I think that Bandow has written some good things over the years, and it bothers me terribly to see people exulting in his present difficulties.

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6:19 pm on December 17, 2005