For You It's "Hoarding," For Branson It's "Stockpiling"
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In a previous post I asked the following:
So two new questions arise:
1. Why is a private, for-profit, non-medical business allowed tohoard stockpile any prescription drugs under any circumstances in the first place?
2. Where, precisely, is the line between "stockpiling" and "hoarding" drawn? Hopefully not at the same line between intelligent policy and the Politics of Pull.
Why is it "stockpiling" when the federal government buys millions of doses of Tamiflu in advance, but "hoarding" when I try to buy two?Now my question is: Why is it "hoarding" if I, a private citizen, want two doses of Tamiflu, but "stockpiling" when Richard Branson, also a private citizen, wants 10,000 doses for his private airline?
In response to questions about companies hording Tamiflu, Branson said, "We've bought [Tamiflu] because our staff is on the front line."Last time I checked, Virgin Atlantic was neither a hospital nor a pharmacy nor a government. Moreover, an airline cannot "catch the flu" the way you or I can (recent flu shot notwithstanding).
Branson also said that despite Virgin's best efforts to protect staff and passengers, if the flu starts spreading person to person, "it will most certainly affect the airline industry."
So two new questions arise:
1. Why is a private, for-profit, non-medical business allowed to
2. Where, precisely, is the line between "stockpiling" and "hoarding" drawn? Hopefully not at the same line between intelligent policy and the Politics of Pull.
Related Posts (on one page):
- Reports of Humanity's Death Have Been Greatly Exaggerated
- Plenty of Tamiflu, Despite Government Panic
- For You It's "Hoarding," For Branson It's "Stockpiling"
- Tamiflu Maker Cutting Off U.S. Purchases
- Wonder Drugs are Now a "Negative Externality"?
- Avian Flu: EU = "Don't Panic," UK = "Panic"
- Calls for Seizing Tamiflu Patent Increasing
- Avian Flu: How Anti-Libertarian Could It Get?
Posted by Kip on
3 November 2005
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