ABSTRACT
The majority of basic research, the essential startup work for products that don't yet yield profits, is paid for by our tax dollars. The pharmaceutical industry receives billions of dollars in tax credits for doing research and development that it should be doing anyway. The wealthiest individuals and corporations are the main beneficiaries of tax laws, tax breaks, property rights, zoning rules, copyright provisions, trade pacts, antitrust legislation, and contract regulations. Pharmaceutical companies claim patents on medications that were developed through many years of government research and development. The rise of "philanthrocapitalism" has allowed tech titans like Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates, along with hedge fund and private equity billionaires, to reduce their taxes—thus depriving society of infrastructure and education funds—while they assume the right to make high-level decisions about GMO agriculture, charter schools, and internet usage. The Lancet, only four of the 336 new drugs developed in the first decade of this century were for diseases impacting low-income people.
