We talk a lot about Intellectual Property and how it may or may not be justified, but we never talk about the human aspect of things. Olly can tell us all about it:

Without getting to into the personal details, my mom recently retired and as such she and my dad have been paying very close attention to their finances (he’s already retired), taking into account where cuts need to be made, changes that will and have to happen in their lifestyle, etc.

…

Between the two of them, they have three or four medications they both must take on a regular basis. Most of these, even without insurance, aren’t prohibitively expensive. Most have been on the market for a long time, and as such have generics available.

One of them, however, has no generic. This particular drug, made by Glaxo Smith Kline, is under patent protection for the next two years (and has been for I believe about 10). No generics available (though they are waiting in the wings for the patent to expire). As such, GSK can pretty much set whatever price they’d like for it… the price they’ve chosen?

$800.00 for the standard dose. Eight-hundred-fucking-dollars. Every month.

Do we need any clearer indication of the problem of intellectual property? This is basic junior high economics: If I am the only one that can provide something, then the only limit I have on what I can charge for it is what people are willing to pay.