Tax Burden and the services you receive

[ShebaPoe]

Originally Posted by The President

When you get into something heavily regulated like medicine, money is going to flow here if for the only reason being that we offer a population of 300+ million and a first world economy. Getting regulatory approval here is much more valuable than getting regulatory approval in any other country.

What point do you think you're making? I don't see any at all.

[2pac Shakur]

Originally Posted by Dismal Science

If you were to try and quantify the level of government services you are expected to use in your lifetime versus the amount you pay in taxes for those services, where do you think you would stand?

For example, do you think you will pay about 3 times more in PV of taxes than the PV of services you expect to receive? More? Less?

When I start to think about this I realize how much I expect to be shafted by the government over my lifetime. Make sure to include all the taxes you pay over the years and try to quantify the level of government "services" you receive.

Sources of taxes: Federal income tax, state income tax, potentially city income tax, tax on fuel, property taxes, SS and Medicare, sales taxes, any luxury taxes, tolls, etc.

Sources of services: Military (foreign protection), Law and Order (police / firemen), SS and Medicare, use of infrastructure (roads, courts, bridges, tunnels), food stamps, unemployment insurance, welfare, etc.

Now do the same for your insurance.

[Academic Actuary]

Originally Posted by ShebaPoe

So you've divided medical conditions into

Legitimate
Illegitimate
Borderline illegitimate

Do any policy thoughts follow from this?

Like any classification system, you generally have to discretize a continuum so I think that is a reasonable system. If you want one clearly in the illegitimate I would put social anxiety disorder, more commonly referred to as shyness for which some children are now being medicated.

My policy thoughts are that drug companies should have the burden of proof in showing that their products actually do what is claimed before they can be sold, and that the standard of proof be higher for conditions that deal with psychological rather than physiological conditions.

[The President]

Originally Posted by ShebaPoe

What point do you think you're making? I don't see any at all.

Try harder then.

If it costs a fixed amount to gain regulatory approval in a given country, you start with the largest markets first. The US is the largest market. R&D comes here.

Corruption or incompetance and an over-reliance on medication (due to laziness in the US) makes it an even better market for Rx.

[Wigmeister General]

The last time I received any benefit from the government was 1734