This guy is a jackass, but why care? What information could he provide that makes any difference to the prescription-pricing bed that Congress has made for the country? Who else was at the hearing, any idea?
Shkreli was only invited to provide headline-cover for the other Pharma gougers there, and you’re giving it to them. Companies who have been doing this kind of thing for decades, for drugs that more than 1000 people have to take (i.e. you).
But yeah, “I hope the Wu kicks his ass” is a good way to deal with the medical commerce problem Shkreli illuminated.
Yes, and I wonder how serious Congress is about the price of pharmaceuticals.
Every time the price of oil spikes into new territory, or a financial firm collapses due to mismanagement, Congress calls their friends in the industry to come testify. They blow a lot of smoke then go home, safe in the knowledge that the Congresscritters are just barking and will not bite the hands that feed them.
Well in theory you don’t HAVE congressional hearings because somebody has done something illegal. That’s what the courts are for. You have congressional hearings because somebody has done something wrong that ISN’T illegal and you think that it should be. In practice it’s mostly about giving congressmen an opportunity to condemn an action that their constituents decry even if it IS a direct and foreseeable result of laws passed by Congress.
He could say “this douchebag thing I did is perfectly legal.” Theoretically that could inspire Congress to react with “Maybe it shouldn’t be. We should look into that.”
ETA: Actually his smug refusal to answer questions may have the same result. Fingers crossed!
He is a highly visible symptom of a huge, insidious problem.
Most Americans don’t spend much time thinking about how poor regulation of the pharma industry ruins ordinary people’s lives until people like this guy start making headlines. He’s bringing more public attention to a problem that sorely needs it.
It’s not like they were doing anything substantive to regulate the industry BEFORE Shkreli. I certainly can’t see how the public attention he’s bringing to the problem is likely to make things worse.
Not sure if you caught his recent ridiculous threats, but he’s inviting a Wu hit mob. First he announced he was either going to destroy the Wu Tang album or put it somewhere remote where people would have to journey to it like a shrine. After Ghostface Killa called him an asshole (and made fun of his nose), he made a video giving Ghostface 48 hours to send a 500-word apology or he promised he would “remove” Ghostface’s vocals from the album.
I stand with Pharma bro in regards to the sham hearing. They grilled him on his personal spending habits. … Lawmakers, grilled him on spending habits. Let that sink in. I say smirk on smirkette. There’s a time and place for the evil smirk to be an instrument of good. Today they were aligned for him.
