In the previous post, I said there was no real purpose to complaining. But the uproar was so loud, the company capitulated and said they’d lower the price.

The price started at a dollar or two and the previous company raised it to $13.50.  Recently after Turing Pharmaceuticals bought the company, Martin Shkreli raised the price to $750!  After the uproar, he said he’d lower it, though probably to something like $20.

Did he purposely raise it to $750 so he could fall back to a price that’s still 50% higher?  Probably not.

Did all the fuss and complaining fix the problem, contrary to my claim that complaining is bad?  No.

If you listen to Shkreli being interviewed, you’ll hear him allude to many other drugs that have had steeply inflated prices. By complaining, it put all the attention on his pill. Lowering the price then appears to alleviate the problem, ignoring all the other companies that did much worse.

This is the problem with these emotional attacks. As soon as something happens to alleviate the emotions, the problem is over, even though no solution to the broader problems has been sought.

Is Shkreli a psychopath?  Maybe, maybe not. All I know is that the public was ill-served by the emotional outbursts, and simlar problems persist.

Join with me in my solution for the real problem, that politics is dominated by emotional manipulation, grandstanding, and sensationalism.  Go onto PeopleCount.org today, register and vote on issues on the sample site. When we’re ready to launch, we’ll send you an announcement and you can be part of the first wave of Americans to make Congress truly accountable to the people.

Please also donate a few dollars to the site.  What’s it worth to you to ensure that America becomes a democracy of, by and for The People?