Every week I tell you what TPA thinks about a wide range of issues facing taxpayers and consumers. Well, we want to hear from you. Go to our homepage and check out our brand spanking new TPA Poll. Our first question is, “As the end of the fiscal year, and a potential government shutdown, approaches, what should Congress focus on?” Your choices are: 1. Cutting Spending, 2. Reforming healthcare, 3. Reducing tariffs, or 4. Cutting taxes. So, what do you think? Choose carefully! Also, if you have more to say, please feel free to reply to this e-mail or [email protected].
Pelosi’s Drug Problem is a Problem for Everybody
Yesterday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Ca.) announced a plan to have the government negotiate drug prices with manufacturers based on drug prices in countries with socialized medicine. Under Speaker Pelosi’s plan, medications selected by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) would be subject to government-suggested prices based on an international average of foreign prices. Failure by the drug manufacturer to agree to “negotiated” prices would result in fines equal to at least 65 percent of that manufacturer’s gross annual sales.
Normally, when negotiating an issue, two sides voluntarily come together to reach an agreement that benefits all parties. This attempt by Speaker Pelosi to force lower prices on manufacturers is no “negotiation,” and would harm everybody involved. The misguided plan would stymie access to life-saving medications that millions of Americans rely on every day. Despite criticism by respected authorities such as the Congressional Budget Office of similar previous proposals, Pelosi and her legislative allies are as determined as ever to push for socialized medicine. This fatally-flawed proposal would have HHS look to European countries to figure out “fair” prices for leading medications. But Europe’s fifty-year experiment with price-fixing has led to an exodus from the continent by leading drug manufacturers. Since the 1970s, the share of new medications originating in countries such as Germany, France, and the U.K. has halved as companies sought refuge in the U.S. And European consumers have paid the price in the form of chronic shortages of life-saving medications such as statins. American consumers would suffer a similar fate if U.S. policymakers import these price controls.
Instead of harming millions of vulnerable patients through drug price controls, lawmakers should look to lower out-of-control drug development costs. The average drug costs $3 billion to bring to market, and a thicket of needless Food and Drug Administration rules threaten to balloon costs even higher. Now is the time for FDA reform, not socialized medicine.
Food Stamps for Billionaires
When Americans think of food stamp recipients, images of desperate lower-income Americans typically come to mind. Taxpayers desperately want to believe that their hard-earned dollars are helping poor people struggling to make ends meet with welfare benefits helping them get the vital nutrients they need to stay alive. Imagine the outrage, then, as taxpayers find out that some of the people on food stamps are in fact millionaires. Because of a bizarre loophole in how food stamps (formally known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP) are administered by states, millionaires — or even billionaires — can receive food stamps. A loophole allows bureaucrats to simply ignore federally mandated asset requirements. As a result, an estimated 3.1 million to 5 million people currently on food stamps shouldn’t be receiving this welfare benefit. Taxpayers deserve better than having to share their paychecks with well-off Americans who are unlikely to be in want of a meal.
Federal loopholes often have a Kafkaesque quality to them, creating stranger-than-fiction situations that would be hilarious if they weren’t costing taxpayers billions of dollars annually. The puzzling policy was born out of the 1990s welfare reform package, which was designed to streamline efficiency and prevent people from having to reapply for multiple welfare programs. The changes stipulated that anyone receiving assistance from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families welfare program was also eligible for food stamps. This gargantuan oversight gap leads to all sorts of ludicrous situations. Leroy Fick received food stamps, even after winning $2 million in the Michigan State Lottery. Fick used his winnings to buy a new home and an Audi convertible, all while continuing to receive SNAP benefits. Because the food stamp program is paid for by the federal government, but TANF benefits are distributed by the states, there is little or no incentive for states to behave with any accountability. This mismatch has resulted in wacky situations where TANF-funded family planning brochures have been distributed by one state simply to confer SNAP auto-eligibility onto eager recipients.
Taking advantage of the SNAP loophole is theft, pure and simple, not only from taxpayers but also from genuinely needy Americans. Current reform proposals to close this loophole are not only common sense, but the only fair way to ensure that the SNAP program sticks around for the people who truly need it. All advocates for the less-fortunate should celebrate a much-needed change that would save taxpayers billions of dollars and help the needy get food on the table.
Blogs:
Media:
September 16, 2019: Townhall ran TPA’s op-ed, “Pelosi's Plan for Drug Pricing Is Not What the Doctor Ordered.”
September 16, 2019: The Washington Examiner (Washington, D.C.) ran TPA’s op-ed, “Trump's welcome rule change: No more food stamps for millionaires.”
September 16, 2019: Townhall ran TPA’s op-ed, “US Must Stand for Property Rights in Venezuela.”
September 16, 2019: TPA Policy Director Ross Marchand appeared on “The Lars Larson Show” (Compass Media) to discuss drug price controls and healthcare reform.
September 16, 2019: TPA Policy Director Ross Marchand appeared on “The Georgene Rice Show” (KPDQ; Portland, Or.) to discuss drug price controls and healthcare reform.
September 17, 2019: TPA Policy Director Ross Marchand appeared on “The WPHM Morning Show” (WPHM; Detroit, Mi.) to discuss vaping bans and public health.
September 17, 2019: The Center Square ran TPAF investigative reporter Johnny Kampis’ op-ed, “As taxpayer-funded Kentucky Wired sputters, reports show record broadband deployments by ISPs.”
September 18, 2019: The Daily Bell ran TPA’s op-ed, “Sin Taxes Kill.”
September 19, 2019: TPA Policy Director Ross Marchand appeared on “The Hard Question” (WCGO; Chicago, Il.) to discuss drug price controls and healthcare reform.
September 19, 2019: Inside Sources ran TPA’s op-ed, “Terminally Ill Patients Deserve Hospice Care Reforms.”
September 19, 2019: WBFF (Fox; Baltimore, Md.) interviewed me about vaping and e-cigarettes.
September 19, 2019: The Catalyst ran TPA’s op-ed, “We Already Have Government-Run Healthcare in US: Just Ask Native Americans.”
September 19, 2019: The Center Square ran TPA’s op-ed, “Under a President Sanders, UAW-style strikes would be a regular occurrence.”
September 20, 2019: Fredericksburg.com (Fredericksburg, Va.) ran TPA’s op-ed, “Terminally ill patients deserve hospice care reforms.”
September 20, 2019: TPA Policy Director Ross Marchand appeared on “The David Webb Show” (Sirius/XM Channel 125) to discuss drug price controls and healthcare reform.
Have a great weekend, and as always, thanks for your continued support.
Best,
David Williams
President
Taxpayers Protection Alliance
1401 K Street, NW
Suite 502
Washington, D.C. xxxxxx
www.protectingtaxpayers.org
