Where: Fletcher Free Library (Pickering Room).
Contact: Jeremy Ryan, chair@vtlp.org, 802-735-2149

Agenda:

- Election of Town Committee Officers
- Discussion of Libertarian Politics and Policy

All voters who have not yet participated in another caucus this year are invited to attend.

** When: Saturday, 12/22, 1pm

** Where: Burlington: Fletcher Free Library, Pickering Room

** Contact: Jeremy Ryan, chair@vtlp.org, 802-865-0111

** Agenda: We will elect a new State Committee (Chair, Vice Chair,vSecretary, Treasurer and Assistant Treasurer). We need 5 people to participate in order to finalize the caucus for this year and remain a party.

Please RSVP if you intend to participate.

About Heavenly Ryan

Heavenly currently serves as secretary of the Burlington Libertarian Party, vice chair of the Vermont Libertarian Party, and works with her husband, at Advantage Creations of Burlington.

Contact:

Heavenly Ryan
53 Avenue C
Burlington, Vermont 05401
Phone: 802/865-0111
Fax: 309/406-3143
Web: http://www.burlingtonlp.org
Email: hryanvt@yahoo.com

April 2006

Sponsored by
The Burlington Libertarian Party
www.burlingtonlp.org

***************************************************************

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. From the Chair
2. Burlington Mayor Bob Kiss Speaks to the BBA
3. VFW vs. the State
4. Movie Night: V for Vendetta
5. New VTLP Blog
6. Annual VTLP Convention
7. Burlington Libertarians in Action
8. Libertarian Humor
9. Quote of the Month
10. Letters to the Editor/ Submit an Article

***************************************************************

From the chair…

This is our 6th newsletter. We will to provide you notice of current issues facing Burlingtonians, views of other Burlington Libertarians, notices of events of interest, and more.

I hope you enjoy the newsletter. Please feel free to send me your comments, suggestions and your own letters and articles to be included in future issues.

In Liberty,

Jeremy Ryan, Chair
Burlington Libertarian Party
contact me

***************************************************************

Burlington Mayor Bob Kiss Speaks to the BBA

Heavenly and I attended the regular monthly Burlington Business Association (BBA) meeting this morning where Bob Kiss, Burlington’s new mayor, was the guest speaker and main event. Following is my account of his speech and Q/A…

Kiss stated that the best thing city can do is provide good and efficient services such as public works, police, fire, electricity (low rates), neighborhood schools (which contribute to good education), public transportation and telecommunications (through Burlington Telecom). These services must be provided efficiently. Our challenges as a city are in childcare and healthcare. While Burlington cannot do it alone, the city needs to be more aggressive towards coming up with a solution for the healthcare crisis.

Kiss’s major goal is more social equity in Burlington — to lesson the gap between the rich and the poor.

Burlington budgeting problems are going to be his major initial focus. He believes the local option sales tax will help and he will look for alternative ways to increase the tax revenue for the city, other than the property tax. Kiss is confident that the state will approve Burlington’s request for the local option sales tax. Kiss stated that the local option sales tax is capped at 1%… it’s not open-ended.

Kiss stated that he’s not looking to change much of the current city staff – he wants to work with the existing staff to make positive changes.

Q/A:

Preferred method of communication?
By email, he just got his new email address: bkiss@ci.burlington.vt.us. You may also contact him by phone: 802-865-7272, City Hall: 149 Church Street
Burlington, VT 05401 Web: http://www.ci.burlington.vt.us/mayor/

Recently the city published a report that suggested capping the budget increases as 3%/year and reducing city staff to 2000 levels. Do you support this?
The city should strive for these goals. City employee benefits are major factor with the budget. The city needs more taxing and funding sources to meet needs.

Affordable housing?
Currently the city is short 21,000 rental and 12,000 home purchase opportunities. Burlington has made great progress towards affordable housing. Kiss hopes for more help from the state government for Burlington Community Land Trust to create more housing. Kiss also wants the zoning rewrite to allow more density throughout the city so more units can be built.

Business in Burlington?
Burlington needs more space for business. Again, Burlington’s zoning needs to allow more density so more businesses can open and expand. The city needs to continue to help grow small (micro) businesses.

Potholes?
The city’s infrastructure is critical for people and businesses locating in Burlington. Kiss stated if he could fill every hole tomorrow he would.

Why do you think you could be mayor?
What do you bring to the table? Kiss cited his 25 years in human services and 12 years managing a larger non-profit as providing him good experience which should translate well in managing the city of Burligton.

Burlington Telecom – what are the long term goals and how will it be financed?
Burlington Telecom is financed by a $20 million bond and the hope is that the revenue will be enough to meet the payments. However, the city is not responsible for the bonds, but Burlington Telecom will be part of the city government. Burlington Telecom will provide cable, phone and internet services to Burlington residents.

What are your thoughts on Northern Lights on Cherry Street and the State Mental Hospital locating at Fletcher Allen?
Northern Lights is a proposed half-way house for released female offenders. Kiss stressed his support for the project as he believes it’s our duty to provide capacity for offenders to be reintroduced into society in order for them to be successful. However, both projects need to be well run and fully funded. Kiss is pleased that the Burlington Housing Authority is a partner in this… this speaks very well of Burlington. Kiss also stated that the U.S. in general is failing in corrections in that far too many released offenders return to prison within a year for repeat offenses. There needs to be more support for them after being released so they are successful and not likely to re-offend.

Your thoughts on the Moran Plant and the Waterfront?
Kiss appreciates how inclusive our waterfront is and wants to keep it inclusive. Kiss wants the opportunity for everyone to use the waterfront and he is very happy with the success so far.

Business plan for city?
Kiss wants to think fresh about Burlington and he will open up discussion with the Burlington businesses regarding his plan.

Syndicated from jeremyryan.org.

***************************************************************

VFW vs. the State

On March 16th, it was reported that the VFW Post 7779 in Hyde Park went to battle against to state in regards to the smoking ban extension to private clubs. They held a meeting and voted to reinstate smoking at the club. Post Commander Bruce Martin stated that it wasn’t so much about the cigarettes as it was about sending a message that the state is butting in where it doesn’t belong.

“These people are sick of the state taking away our private rights.”, stated Martin.

I commend them for taking the initiative to push the limits of the law and I had hoped they would continue to stand against the state. Other VFWs have been rumored to begin allowing smoking again as well.

However, in the end, it appears that the state’s threats of $10,000/day fines were too much for them to risk. However, I would have like to see the state try to shut down a VFW for smoking. That would have been one of the best opportunities for overturning the law. I would imagine that a VFW would have had the best chance of getting public support against the state. I cannot imagine many people siding with the state against veterans on whether they should be able to smoke or not in their own club.

Syndicated from jeremyryan.org.

***************************************************************

Movie Night: V for Vendetta

Quote from movie:
“People should not be afraid of their governments, governments should be afraid of the people.”

Last night, Hardy Machia, Bonnie Scott, Kevin Ryan, Jonathan Stauffer, Heavenly and I went out together to see the movie V for Vendetta, another great movie from the people who brought you The Matrix. Again, the Wachowski brothers have created a Libertarian-themed movie where a small group of people are fighting to reduce the power of an oppressive government and to open people’s eyes to it.

Brief Synopsis of film from LP.org:

“V for Vendetta is based on a graphic novel by Alan Moore that is set in England in 2020. Great Britain is under the control of a fascist government who use fear and intimidation to control its citizens. The government controls the media and clamps down on free speech through its Ministry of Objectionable Materials.

A mysterious rebel known as V, who is dubbed a terrorist by the Hitler-esque Chancellor Sulter, plots to overthrow the government. V seeks to complete 17th century saboteur Guy Fawkes’s mission to blow up Parliament, as way to spark a rebellion.

Looking at early reviews, V for Vendetta has plenty of action and thrills to keep audiences entertained, and delivers a clear libertarian message, which can be summed up in its tagline – “People should not be afraid of their governments, governments should be afraid of the people.”

More information:

• Movie Information
  
• Movie Quotes
  
• Interview with Natalie Portman

Syndicated from jeremyryan.org.

***************************************************************

New VTLP Blog

When you visit http://www.vtlp.org, you will notice that they now have a blog. Just under Upcoming Events is the Recent News section. Here you will find something new just about every day. (If you know about RSS feeds, then you can watch our blog at http://www.vtlp.org/feeds/.

Jeremy Ryan supports the following:

- Lower taxes and voter control over city budget.

- Open and honest government.

- Local control over schools and government.

- Affordable housing by lowering taxes and regulations.

You can read more on his positions, his biography and blog by going to his campaign web site at: http://www.jeremyryan.org.

Contact:

Jeremy Ryan, candidate
Jeremy Ryan for City Council
53 Avenue C
Burlington, Vermont 05401
Phone: 802-865-0111
Fax: 309-406-3143
http://www.jeremyryan.org

About Heavenly Ryan

Heavenly currently serves as secretary of the Burlington Libertarian Party, Ward 7 steering committee member, and works with her husband, at Advantage Creations of Burlington.

Contact:

Heavenly Ryan
53 Avenue C
Burlington, Vermont 05401
Phone: 802/865-0111
Fax: 309/406-3143
Web: http://www.burlingtonlp.org
Email: hryanvt@yahoo.com

The resolution urges “a simple but effective method of regulating the annual increase in rents while allowing property owners to recover reasonable costs.” It would require advance notice to tenants of annual rent increases of more than 5 percent and give them the right of a quick appeal to an unspecified board. Landlords would be required to appear before the board to justify the increase.

Enacting the resolution being proposed almost assures a 5% per year increase in rent, not a reduction. Furthermore, rent control will cause reduced investment in existing and new rental housing. The end result will be still higher rents, even less affordable housing and lower quality housing.

What caused the high rents? Excessive regulation, the recent reappraisal, and excessive property taxes are to blame. The regulations make it too hard to build enough units of housing in Burlington. Regulations are the mandates that make the too few permitted units much more expensive, driving up rents. Also, if we are to avoid sprawl, the cities like Burlington have to loosen up regulations to make more honestly affordable units.

The 2002 Mayor’s Affordable Housing Task Force Report quotes the Burlington Housing Authority staff saying that they wouldn’t own rental property in Burlington because the City makes it so hard for landlords.

The Burlington Libertarian Party urges the city council to reduce the regulation and property taxes in order to make rents more affordable. The city must understand that any attack on landlords is passed on to the tenants.

Contact:

Jeremy Ryan, Chair
Burlington Libertarian Party
53 Avenue C
Burlington, Vermont 05401
Phone: 802-865-0111
Fax: 309-406-3143
http://www.burlingtonlp.org
chair@burlingtonlp.org

October 2005

Sponsored by
The Burlington Libertarian Party
www.burlingtonlp.org

***************************************************************

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. From the Chair
2. Moran Plant, a Historical Landmark?
3. Bar Smokers Shown the Door
4. Resolutions to Cut Retirement Benefits for City Employees
5. Resolution Regarding Burlington Property Taxes
6. 76-78 Cherry Street
7. Burlington Libertarians in Action
8. Libertarian Humor
9. Quote of the Month
10. Letters to the Editor/ Submit an Article

***************************************************************

From the chair…

This is our fifth newsletter. We will to provide you notice of current issues facing Burlingtonians, views of other Burlington Libertarians, notices of events of interest, and more.

I hope you enjoy the newsletter. Please feel free to send me your comments, suggestions and your own letters and articles to be included in future issues.

In Liberty,

Jeremy Ryan, Chair
Burlington Libertarian Party
contact me

<back to top>
***************************************************************

Moran Plant, a Historical Landmark?

It was recently announced that the Moran Plant will be considered for historical landmark status. It seems to me that the plan behind this is to make it harder for many of the ideas that the people want for the Moran Plant to happen.

It is very obvious that when asked the majority of people want a public park where the moran plant stands however, Mayor Clavelle and CEDO obviously still want their YMCA deal to go through or something similar. I still hear people pushing for it. This is a way to get it back on the ballot.

I remember when we were asked for suggestions, the comment card itself said that the most popular ideas would not necessarily be the ones put on the ballot. This sent an obvious signal that the board and the mayor will be choosing the choices we vote on. Hopefully, they do not intend to put the YMCA and then list a bunch of unpopular choices so that the YMCA becomes the most logical choice and pushing for the moran plant to be declared a historical landmark would make it that much easier for them.

<back to top>
***************************************************************

Bar Smokers Shown the Door.

It’s now official… no smoking in any public or private bars, restaurants and clubs in the whole state of Vermont. It’s unbelievable to me… The businesses along with their employees and customers cannot even decide on their own whether they want to allow smoking or not. The smokers cannot have one place to go to hang out and smoke… not one. I find this so offensive. It’s oppression of a minority by the majority. As the article states, it’s a different crowd. The state has essentially kicked out the minority and replaced them with the majority. Whether you believe smoking is bad for you or not, you should be upset by this decision. It really attacks the essence of our freedoms. By allowing a nanny-state to prohibit risky behaviors gives the state far more power than they should have over us. I will end with a quote from Marilyn Ferguson…

“So long as we need to control other people, however benign our motives, we are captive to that need. In giving them freedom, we free ourselves.”

<back to top>
***************************************************************

Resolutions to Cut Retirement Benefits for City Employees.

The Board of Finance proposed a resolution to lower the cost to the city of the retirement system for city employees. The resolution, noting that city contributions to the retirement fund jumped from about $1.5 million in fiscal year 2002 to $4.6 million this year and are “still not sufficient to meet the actuarially projected future costs.”

This part was a bit confusing to me… when city employees spoke out about this during the public forums at the city council meeting, they were under the impression that they were promised a certain level of benefits in exchange for lower wages. If the city did in fact promise them these benefits then they do owe it to them… they should weasel out of it. However, as we all should should know that retirement funds to have fluctuation and the economy is still not performing as well as it has in the past, so investments are still generally lower. This is the problem for the city’s retirement fund. However, I believe it’s only temporary. Besides, the retirement fund should generally be invested in safe investments such as bonds… maybe they messed up… and now they want to pass on their promises. It’s seems that the city had plenty of money to give the YMCA last year and they have enough money to go after churches to take their property… you can’t trust a politian I guess.

<back to top>
***************************************************************

Resolution Regarding Burlington Property Taxes.

Coucilors Bushor and Fiermonte introduced a resolution to help with the heavy property tax burden facing Burlington residents. The resolution states that the current procedure that pays much of education costs statewide is “convoluted and not well understood by taxpayers” and asks that the city’s representatives to that state Legislature work to revise the property tax system. The resolution calls for:

• Having the state – instead of the individual cities and towns – collect the statewide property tax and billing homeowners based on their income.
  
• Increasing the income threshold to expand the renter rebate program.
  
• Giving Vermont municipalities the authority to impose local sales taxes.

Hmm… I wonder why the city is looking to push the taxing responsibility to the state. Here are my thoughts… first, they would rather have the residents blame the state than them, the city councilors… they don’t want the responsibility and of course they want the state to force the Burlington residents to accept a local sales tax as they know very well the voters voted it down last town meeting day. Interesting indeed.

<back to top>
***************************************************************

76-78 Cherry Street

One of the major topics discussed at the last city council meeting was the 76-78 Cherry Street building which is owned by the Catholic diocese. The Catholic diocese decided they wanted the building to be torn down so they could do something else with the property. However, councilor’s Shannon, Montrell and Perry along with Preservation Burlington wanted to not allow the Catholic Diocese the permit to take down their own building because they believe it has some historic and architectural value.

Councilor Shannon particularly fought the hardest for the now allowing the permit as she herself has purchased and restored an older building as her home and she felt that this building was quite a find architecturally and historically. It’s one of the few surviving homes from the urban renewal.

The following issue arose during the discussion:

The city’s legal department has already spent $25,000 in legal costs and there is no idea of how much more to continue as experts will need to be called in to figure out the options. I could not believe that it $25,000 has already been spent just in the initial stages of this deal. That’s enough to buy our home or what Heavenly and I make in nearly two years. It’s just plain reckless to me.

If the city wins, the city would need to study code requirements and the fact remains that the Catholic diocese does not want to the sell or donate the land to the city. They city would need to take it from them!

The resolution is not economically viable for the city… there is too much public cost, opportunity costs, and there are no limits to the expenses… the resolution calls for whatever funds are necessary, no budget or anything. The money involved could buy 100s of affordable housing units, which are much needed.

It was because of these issues that I believe the resolution was voted down by the majority of the councilors. I congratulate them on a good decision. What place does the city have to be trying to take land from a church… what’s next sending cops to take candy from a baby? Really.

I think that problem governmental people have is that whenever they see something that they like or dislike going on in the city the first thought is to write a resolution… create a law. What about a voluntary discussion without force… what about getting together with others that feel the same way to try to work something out. It seems to me that if the building was really valuable, people would want to get together to save it without having to take it by force and forcing the tax payers to pay for the seizure. I’d also like to mention that at one point the city council kicked the audience out so that they could talk in secret about the issue. This was kind of unusual as usually they do that at the end of the city council meeting for other various legal stuff the city is involved in that they don’t want us to know about. They call these “executive sessions”. I think the city council really abuses this power. It’s supposed to be used for the most sensitive of issues not every meeting so that councilors can protect their reputations from the public. They are simply abusing the power and it’s not right to me.

<back to top>
***************************************************************

Burlington Libertarians in Action… (upcoming events)

• October 5, 2005, 5PM
  CEDO Open House & Dinner
  Will be held at the CEDO office over City Market.

• October 15th 2005, starts at 9AM
  FreedomFest 2005
  Click here or go to the following url for more details:
  http://www.ethanallen.org/home.html

• October 17, 2005, 4PM
  Speaker: Stephen Moore
  Saint Michael’s College presents Stephen Moore, senior economics writer for The Wall Street Journal speaking on “The Ownership Society”. Moore was founder and president, 1999-2004, of the Club for Growth, a 25,000-member organization dedicated to helping elect free market, tax cutting candidates to Congress. The group raised nearly $22 million for Republican Congressional and Senate candidates in 2003-04. A commentator for Fox TV, Moore has been a senior fellow at the Cato Institute, publishing on Federal budget and tax policy. He is the architect of the flat tax proposed by Dick Armey of Texas. He is the author of four books, including most recently Bullish on Bush: How the Ownership Society Will Make America Stronger. Where: Saint Michael’s College, International Commons building. Costs: Free. More Information: Call 802-654-2536.

• October 24th 2005, 7PM
  Burlington City Council Meeting
  Will be held at City Hall’s Contois Auditorium. The rent control resolutions will be discussed.

• October 29, 2005
  VTLP Meeting
  Time and location not certain. Contact Scott Berkey at 802-728-6211 for more information.

<back to top>
***************************************************************

Libertarian Humor…

<back to top>
***************************************************************

Quote of the Month…

“Government cannot make man richer, but it can make him poorer.”

- Ludwig von Mises

<back to top>
***************************************************************

Letters to the editor/ submit an article

For information or to submit news, letters, or articles, contact us .

<back to top>
***************************************************************

Burlington LP News is a publication of the Burlington Libertarian Party, 53 Avenue C, Burlington, VT 05401. All Rights Reserved. Copyright (C) 2005.

[Article Begins]

Have you lost a loved one to breast cancer recently? If so, you probably wished with all your heart that your sister, mother, or wife had detected it earlier. Perhaps they would have – if the device that clinicians are calling “one of the most effective weapons against breast cancer” hadn’t been banned from the US market by the FDA.

The Sensor Pad, developed in Decatur, Illinois, is simply two sealed plastic sheets with lubricant in between. When a woman or her doctor places the pad over her breast, friction is reduced, making lump detection easier. The FDA has refused to approve this simple medical device for over a decade, even though the product is sold in Japan, Singapore, Korea, and most West European countries. The reason? The FDA wants this $7 device to go through the same testing procedures that it demands for expensive pharmaceuticals. After such testing, the FDA will take up to six years to decide whether or not the device should be approved. Because drug manufacturers are required to spend much more time and money getting US approvals than offshore ones, Americans get new, life-saving drugs and devices years later than citizens of other countries – if they get them at all.

Sometimes this delay protects us from side effects not readily detected in animal studies. The sedative thalidomide, for example, was marketed in Europe for several years while awaiting FDA approval. In the early 1960′s, the sensitivity of an unborn child to the deforming effects of drugs was not widely appreciated, so doctors began prescribing thalidomide to pregnant women. Consequently, approximately 12,000 European children were born with deformed limbs. Few American babies were affected because only a few test samples had been distributed in this country. The FDA physician who had delayed its approval was given a Presidential Award.

Paying With Our Lives

Encouraged by this feedback, the FDA began to require even more studies. Testing and approval took even longer, especially when compared with countries like Great Britain where there were no immediate changes in the way new drugs were processed. While the British continued to enjoy many new drugs to treat their illnesses, only half of these were available to Americans, and only after many more years of waiting. One of these new drugs denied to Americans was propranolol, the first Beta-blocker to be used extensively to treat angina and hypertension.

Approximately 10,000 Americans died needlessly every year for the three years it was against the law for their doctors to treat them with propranolol. Propranolol was finally approved in the US for minor uses in 1968, but was only approved in 1973 and 1976 for angina and hyper-tension respectively. The regulatory delay of this single drug may have been responsible for the death of more Americans than all other deaths from drugs in this century. Even so, the FDA came under severe criticism by Congress for “premature” approval of this valuable drug! Former FDA Commissioner Alexander Schmidt noted that “. . . rarely, if ever, has Congress held a hearing to look into the failure of FDA to approve a new entity; but it has held hundreds of hearings alleging that the FDA has done something wrong by approving a drug . . . .” The “drug lag,” he claimed, could only “be remedied by Congressional and public recognition that the failure to approve an important new drug can be as detrimental to the public health as the approval of a potentially bad drug.”

The “Drug Lag”

Just how detrimental is the drug lag to public health? Conservative estimates of needless deaths to the “drug lag” are tens, perhaps hundreds of thousands of innocent Americans every year. Many more people die from the FDA’s delay than are saved by waiting to see if people from other countries experience side effects from new drugs.

Perhaps a loved one you’ve lost is among them.

While any harm from drugs is undesirable, we must recognize that no drug is safe for everyone. People die every year from drug allergies or idiosyncratic reactions which cannot be predicted with state-of-the-art expertise. Whenever we take drugs, we must weigh the risks and the potential benefits, just as we weigh the substantial risks and benefits of driving an automobile. By demanding that the FDA protect us from drugs that have any side effects, we deprive ourselves of drugs that save hundreds of thousands of lives.

Ironically, FDA regulations sometimes force people to choose between legal, but toxic, drugs and safer ones from the black market. One San Francisco physician actually encouraged his patients to take the unapproved AIDS therapy DDI, instead of the FDA-approved DDC. The less toxic DDI was developed to replace DDC, but the delays caused by FDA regulations made it unavailable for many years. In desperation, AIDS patients began purchasing the safer substance from illegal buyers’ clubs, which provide unapproved medications for the terminally ill. Many people are still forced to get their medicine on the black market because of the drug lag caused by the FDA.

In 1988, AIDS patients convinced FDA commissioner Frank Young to let them import drugs marketed overseas for their own personal use. Theoretically, any US citizen can now order personal supplies this way. However, current FDA administrators are attempting to close this life-saving loophole.

At least cancer and AIDS victims can purchase new medicines somewhere. Diseases that affect only a few are seldom researched, since the staggering development costs imposed by FDA regulations can never be recovered.

Censoring Health Claims

Claims for unpatentable products, such as vitamins and mineral regimens, are likewise too expensive to recover the cost of FDA approval. For example, Vitamin C manufacturers still cannot tell the public about the published scientific papers attesting to its cardio-protective effects. Furthermore, the FDA prosecutes companies that try to share information on new uses of marketed products without going through another time-consuming and expensive approval process. For almost a decade after a definitive scientific study, the FDA forbade aspirin manufacturers to tell the public that their product could reduce heart attacks by over 40%. Since heart disease is the #1 killer in the US, many thousands of Americans each year are needlessly sentenced to death by regulation.

If aspirin had to undergo the rigorous testing that today’s FDA demands, it would never be marketed. Thankfully, aspirin’s benefits were well-established before the FDA had the power to suppress it.

Perhaps the most heart-wrenching victims of the FDA’s refusal to permit truthful claims for unpatentable products are children born with spina bifida. Because vitamin companies are not allowed to advertise how folic acid supplementation reduces the risk of birth defects, approximately 2500 children are born each year with spina bifida and many more are aborted. Since the benefits of folic acid have been known for well over a decade, this single regulatory decision has harmed more children than thalidomide, the greatest drug tragedy of the 20th Century. How would you feel if your child was needlessly handicapped by such over-zealous regulation?

Not satisfied with its usual “gag order” on information distribution, the FDA actually ordered one US company to destroy all its cookbooks and literature about stevia, an herb used as a sweetener. Certainly something is seriously wrong with the FDA when it resorts to “book burnings” reminiscent of fascist dictatorships.

Between 1989 and 1990, two private organizations, the American Heart Association and the HeartCorps Magazine, provided consumers with “heart-smart” guidelines for food. The American College of Nutrition gave its endorsement to certain brands of vegetable oils, and a calcium-supplemented orange juice was endorsed by the American Medical Women’s Association. The FDA took legal action against these organizations to keep its monopoly on health claims – even health claims made for foods!

If these tactics sound as if they abridge your rights to free speech, you’re right – and the US Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia agrees! In January 1999, they found the FDA in violation of the First Amendment of the Constitution.

Will this court ruling reform the FDA and save us from death by regulation? Unfortunately, this ruling is only a first step. Donald Kennedy, former head of the FDA, notes that “the pattern of intervention into science from a combination of local, state, and federal sources has moved from reason-able control to something close to chaotic strangulation.” Clearly, our entire regulatory system needs major reform.

For reforms to be effective, we must understand what caused our regulatory problems in the first place. We took choice away from the consumer, the person who actually experiences the impact of that choice. We gave the choice to bureaucrats, who are rarely held accountable. For example, in spite of First Amendment violations, no one in the FDA will be prosecuted or punished. With no real down-side, the FDA has no motivation to change!

The Easy Way Out

What do we do when even those affiliated with the FDA can see that drug regulation flunks its own criteria of being safe and effective? How do we stop our tax dollars from being spent on killing both ourselves and our loved ones? How do we insure that Americans get all the safe and effective drugs possible?

Patients and their physicians legally should be able to buy whatever drugs they wish, regardless of the stage of testing. Each person needs to decide for him or herself, in consultation with their physician or other specialists, which risks they are willing to take. Those who wish to wait for FDA approval or a “Seal of Approval” from a medical organization or a consumers groups should have that option. Indeed, the American Medical Association and Consumers’ Research both evaluated drugs in the days before the FDA.

The terminally ill, who can’t wait a decade or two for a new drug to be tested and approved, should be able to buy whatever pharmaceuticals give them a chance. It is their life, and should be their choice. If you or your loved ones were dying, wouldn’t you want access to every possible cure?

We’ve Done It Before

In the early 1900′s, Americans could decide for themselves which drugs to take. Before the FDA came into being, American drug manufacturers usually gave their customers the best drugs that the state-of-the-art would allow. After all, killing the customer is bad business. Deaths due to inadequate testing were much less frequent than the deaths produced by today’s “drug lag.”

The FDA is a cure worse than the disease. If the FDA can’t meet its own criteria of being safe and effective, we are better off without it.

Isn’t it time we stopped denying ourselves and our loved ones life-saving drugs?

[Article Ends]

I believe that reducing the FDA’s power and allowing the individual to decide between FDA approved drugs and non-FDA approved drugs would be a great step in reducing the costs of prescription drugs, which is essentially what Vermont was asking for with drug importation from Canada, or at least a step in that direction.

In the meantime, I suggest that looking for cheaper prescription drugs take a few steps to reduce their costs.

First, shop around. Wal-mart and Drugstore.com have some of the best prices around. You can also ask your existing pharmacist if they will match a lower price you find elsewhere. I know for talking with others that some Kinney Drugs stores will match prices of Wal-mart or even beat them, especially if you are of low-income. You just need to ask.

Second, check out using generics of name-brands you may be currently using. They are often of equal quality, but at a far lower cost. Ask you doctor about switching.

And third, splitting your pills cuts your costs by 50% instantly. Many people currently taking prescriptions can actually make due on half a pill. Again, ask your doctor about this.

[segment begins]

A federal judge has dismissed Vermont’s first-in-the-nation lawsuit seeking to overturn the government’s ban on importing prescription drugs from Canada.

The Douglas administration wanted to give state workers and retirees legal protection to buy cheaper drugs in Canada. But the Food and Drug Administration denied the pilot program and Vermont sued to have the FDA’s decision overturned.

In his ruling, the judge said the Bush Administration has the legal right to block the importation program.

“I’m disappointed, but I’ve said all along re-importation of drugs is not the long term solution. What we need is to do is allow Vermonters to buy phamaceuticals at affordable prices at their neighborhood drugstores. That would require action by the Congress, frankly, to reform the marketplace for drugs, to change the patent lawas, to get generic drugs on the market sooner. We need to work on that as a long term solution,” said Gov. Jim Douglas, R-Vermont.

No word yet if the Douglas Administration will appeal.

[segment ends]

I agree with Douglas that Vermonters should be able to import their prescriptions from Canada. I would also say that we all should be able to buy prescriptions from wherever we want, whether the FDA approves or not. We should be able to buy non-fda approved drugs if we wish. I believe that the FDA has cost many more lives than they have saved with their expensive and lengthy approval process. I believe the FDA is directly causing drugs to be expensive and because of the huge costs for getting a approved, they are the reason that we have only a few pharmaceutical companies. You would have to be a large corporation to be able to afford to produce a new drug in the US.