By Nathan Barton

Like virtually every crisis de jour, at least in the last several decades, the “EpiPen Crisis” or scandal has faded from the headlines, from congressional desks, and from the minds of the public – indeed, probably everyone but those people who continued to get ripped off by one member of the drug industry. But it is NOT resolved, not fixed.

So it is worth revisiting.

The National Center for Policy Analysis is promoting what they call a very simple fix for the dire EpiPen rip-off program, which government apparently feels is worth only milking for political gain and not solving. In this article, the first part of their solution is quickly described: stop requiring prescriptions for them and make them available OTC. Just as is already the case in Canada. Prices are about 1/6 of that in the Fifty States for the device and drug (although Canada allows at least TWO companies to make and sell the things).

The second part of their solution is also simple, but not necessarily easy. (I am not saying the OTC solution is THAT easy, but still…) They propose that Congress take away the FDA’s power to decide HOW a drug or device can be distributed. The FDA would still have safety and effectiveness, but they would no longer be able prohibit a company from deciding whether it is prescription-only or over-the-counter.

Neither part are a bad idea – they make sense. But the only REAL solution is to take away government’s power to dictate monopolies. And the solution would solve a whole lot more than the EpiPen situation. Get RID of the FDA and things become much better quickly. Medical associations and laboratories would immediately implement alternative, private methods of determining effectiveness and safety before prescribing or selling such products. There is potentially an immediate significant savings of lives and dollars.

Indeed, getting government OUT of the business of regulating and manipulating and all of the other things that we are told only government CAN do is the solution to a LOT of the so-called crises we face today. There is no excuse to think that a problem created mainly (or even completely) by government can be SOLVED by government. Indeed, a rational person (or a person who really has compassion for the victims of things like this) would see exactly the opposite: government can NOT solve a problem which is created by government.

Mama’s Note: The non-voluntary government has only force and theft to use as tools. They have no legitimate authority to do anything in the lives of those who do not consent to such. Therefore, non-voluntary government is incapable of actually solving any problems at all.

Sadly, we are a long ways from getting most people to understand that.

Which is one reason to welcome such things as this EpiPen disaster: it has made that many more people aware of just what a mess government has made of so much of modern life.