The Cost of Gov't Regulations

[G-Man]

I work for a drug company.  Yesterday, we had a meeting scheduled for 2 hours in which the entire department that I work in was required to attend.

I work in the drug safety dept.  We report adverse drug events to the FDA (the simplified version).  My Dept. as well as several other Dept's do not make a dime for the company, but COSTS the company millions and millions.

The meeting we sat in was a tutorial for an upcoming on-line training program dealing with the gov't regulations on the company set forth by the Office of the Inspector General.  Since the whole dept. was there, those 2 hours probably costed a hundred thousand.

The Dept. which created the tutorial and the training for the tutorial is made up of expensive staff and contractors.  The Dept. which is responsible for being on top of all these regulations, the legal dept., my dept. the regulatory reporting dept., etc. are all made up of people with professional degrees that are good at what they do in order to keep the company compliant with all these regulations.  And this is for just one Gov't Dept. that we answer to.  And this is just for the medical side of things.  Imagine the cost to comply with the manufacturing side, and now, the sales side.  You can't believe the minutia that is regulated and subject to auditing.  It was incredible.

I sat through this meeting and the dollar signs kept rolling in my head.  It costs a drug company BILLIONS just to maintain compliance with all these regulations.  And these billions bring nothing in return, except for staying out of trouble. 

And then people complain that drug costs are so high.  Someone has to pay for it all.  It certainly not will not be the rich.  They are too small in numbers to make a dent in healthcare because fewer rich people get sick than poor people.  since more poor people get sick (true fact, look it up) and can't afford to pay, the middle class is hit, again, with the high costs of premiums and deductibles. 

Someone always has to pay.  Every law, every regulation, EVERYTHING costs money.  And the middle class will pay EVERY time.

[Firefighter]

Good timing! I just finished paying for last year.

[mike72903]

Looking at it a different way, you have a good job that wouldn't exist if not for government regulation. So while the middle class is supporting jobs like yours it also doesn't have to take untested products or poison passed off as "drugs" by unregulated, unscrupulous people who would certainly take advantage of an unregulated market. 

[The emperor has no clothes]

There is no doubt that the Govt. is not as efficient as it could or should be. Anybody who has been in the military knows that firsthand . There is also no doubt that food regulations, drug regulations, safety regulations have saved many lives. There is a huge cost in those regs. but there is also a huge cost in not having them.

[baldo]

And this is a look at the other side of the coin. Wait until that chicken that's being shipped to China for processing and shipped back for our consumption starts making people sick. And this is with the blessing from the USDA! And let's not forget the efforts made against truth-in-labeling.

[Serk]

And this is a look at the other side of the coin. Wait until that chicken that's being shipped to China for processing and shipped back for our consumption starts making people sick. And this is with the blessing from the USDA! And let's not forget the efforts made against truth-in-labeling.

http://www.snopes.com/china-chicken-reshipped/

[Serk]

...and on the original topic... Even the most regressive of repressive statists have to admit the dogpiling of regulation after regulation has gotten WAY out of hand by now... right?

[Tailgate Tommy]

I feel your pain Gary. I'm thankful that the company I work for only distributes drugs and develops medical device software. Plenty of FDA regulation here for what we do.

They helped the bottom line last week by laying off 1600 folks. Our CEO is the 4th highest paid CEO in the country. It made our stock jump a bit, but not enough for me to retire 
Tom

[Jess from VA]

So my brother has to build a bridge over a (shitty little stagnant) creek to access his new 20 acres (the only access).  Months of design, plans, and dealing with state and fed EPA types.  He jumps threw a legion of hoops.  Finally a young guy shows up walking around and looking at the blueprints.  He seems uncertain, unable to make a decision, it is all so confusing, so he turns to my brother and asks........ have you considered having an environmental impact study performed?  My brother is no politician, and usually says just what he is thinking.  But dad and I had counseled and schooled him on dealing with the G (in general, and the EPA specifically).  So my brother says..... hey I didn't consider that, let me think about it and get back to you.

A study as suggested by the bureaucrat would have cost him about the same as the 20 acres, but these apparatchik pond scum have no understanding beyond their reg books and SOPs and policies.  

He wanted to yell at the guy, or punch him senseless, or bury him in the field, but he stayed cool and played the game.  He never saw that guy again, the project was finally approved, and he was allowed to build a bridge on his own property that did not interfere with the creek one bit, without an environmental impact study.  It still produces a billion mosquitoes per year, just like always.

You do understand that if Fed regulators don't come up with 15 pounds of new regulations each year (for each office),  their budget will be cut and people will be laid off.

[Robert]

To much regulation and it does stifle good drugs from coming to market. The government doesn't care how much it costs though, they never have they don't pay for it.

[art]

I'm real lucky in that I don't take lots of drugs for illness, just thyroid meds and some for rosacea. During my last Dr. visit I asked him about Viagra. What a shock. Walmart charges $50 a pill just to have fun. Darn I had just as much fun on a ride on my Valk.

[G-Man]

Looking at it a different way, you have a good job that wouldn't exist if not for government regulation.

1/3 of my dept has already lost their jobs which has been replaced by a company in India.  Any job where someone sits in front of a computer is at jeopardy of being lost to India, The Phillipines, and any number of other countries where the labor is cheap.  They just haven't gotten up to me and my colleagues yet.  The hospital where I did my residency has no staff radiologists any longer.  Physicians in India read the studies and provide the reports.

Thousands of jobs in this industry alone has left the U.S.  Add countless other industries (insurance, customer service for example) have shipped computer jobs away, never to return.  And all those IT jobs as well since there's less here to service.  Landlords filling less office space.  Local businesses take hits as less folks going out for lunch or shopping near their offices.  etc.  It's ripple effect that many never think about.

Keep making it more expensive for them to do business here and eventually they'll flat out leave.  Raise taxes on them, make the cost of doing business due to over regulating and legal fees and they'll just leave.  We have a very small % of the global population of 7 billion and in 15 years maybe 8 billion.  They won't need our business.

[Patrick]

...and on the original topic... Even the most regressive of repressive statists have to admit the dogpiling of regulation after regulation has gotten WAY out of hand by now... right?

 

[Tailgate Tommy]

Looking at it a different way, you have a good job that wouldn't exist if not for government regulation.

1/3 of my dept has already lost their jobs which has been replaced by a company in India.  Any job where someone sits in front of a computer is at jeopardy of being lost to India, The Phillipines, and any number of other countries where the labor is cheap.  They just haven't gotten up to me and my colleagues yet.  The hospital where I did my residency has no staff radiologists any longer.  Physicians in India read the studies and provide the reports.

Thousands of jobs in this industry alone has left the U.S.  Add countless other industries (insurance, customer service for example) have shipped computer jobs away, never to return.  And all those IT jobs as well since there's less here to service.  Landlords filling less office space.  Local businesses take hits as less folks going out for lunch or shopping near their offices.  etc.  It's ripple effect that many never think about.

Keep making it more expensive for them to do business here and eventually they'll flat out leave.  Raise taxes on them, make the cost of doing business due to over regulating and legal fees and they'll just leave.  We have a very small % of the global population of 7 billion and in 15 years maybe 8 billion.  They won't need our business.

Most of our development is either done in India, or by H-1B visa Indians here in the states. Most of the folks promoted to managers are female too (more gov regs for gov contractors). Nothing left for old fat white guys but retirement.