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Originally Posted by justplugit
3)Establish a profit threshold.
That's a great idea, and while we are at it do the same to all industries ,high tech, gees Microsoft profits averages out something like the mid 20% range, pharmaceuticals, , corporate lawyers, and why not individuals like sports figures, Hollywood stars and so on and so on.
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You could make a good argument that Microsoft's profit margin is the result of monopolistic business practices and many would agree.
As for Pharma, if they weren't subsidized by the US Taxpayer via a MASSIVE indusrty lobby who's done everything to eliminate competition through price fixing perhaps we'd pay the same for drugs as other nations. You don't "need" a 24% margin to spur innovation...unless it's innovation in MARKETING.
Which is exactly the rub.
People love to stroke the "free market" woodie 'cauze it makes them feel like they're writing an op-ed for the National Review, when in reality our markets are nothing like "free".
A true free market would probably return all the wealth to a select few very rapidly and leave the rest of us living in polluted bliss pretty quickly. Some think we're headed there regardless.
That's exactly why this "democratic" society has a progressive tax system (a.k.a wealth re-distribution) and Government regulators to control our "free market" system of commerce.
Granted with all of that it's still the best game in town and our legal system, the best in the world, keeps it all together.
But please, don't cry foul when someone wants to engineer our society, because people have been doing it for the last 200 years.
-spence