Proposal
Posted: Tue Jan 07, 2014 12:08 pm
Dear Ya'all,
I was telling my wife about Underwriters Laboratories, how they do a really great job because they know that their reputation is on the line with every certification that they make. If they certify a dishwasher and the dishwasher electrocutes 5 customers, Underwriters Laboratories is sunk. They may even be sued, and their brand would be ruined. Because their brand was tarnished, the UL symbol of approval would become meaningless and their business would go down.
And suddenly I thought why not privatize the FDA, the US Food and Drug Administration. UL or Underwriters Laboratories is accountable because they are a business. The FDA is not. The FDA has certified as safe and effective numerous, NUMEROUS, drugs that have later proven to cause people's deaths, in some case many deaths, perhaps 10s of thousands of deaths. But we can't sue them, and despite the fact that their brand is about as attractive as human excrement on your favorite rug, we can't make them go away. They are NOT ACCOUNTABLE.
So why not privatize them. There are some who would ask "Do you really want a private company to test your drugs?" But the FDA already does not test our drugs. The drug makers themselves test their own drugs, which is the FDA really great idea (sarcasm). And the FDA's certification process is already a big, fat failure. And they are enraging and alienating alternative health practitioners and consumers. Privatizing them would force them to do a good job, just like UL does.
You are encouraged to virulize this email.
Sincerely,
Roger Bird
I was telling my wife about Underwriters Laboratories, how they do a really great job because they know that their reputation is on the line with every certification that they make. If they certify a dishwasher and the dishwasher electrocutes 5 customers, Underwriters Laboratories is sunk. They may even be sued, and their brand would be ruined. Because their brand was tarnished, the UL symbol of approval would become meaningless and their business would go down.
And suddenly I thought why not privatize the FDA, the US Food and Drug Administration. UL or Underwriters Laboratories is accountable because they are a business. The FDA is not. The FDA has certified as safe and effective numerous, NUMEROUS, drugs that have later proven to cause people's deaths, in some case many deaths, perhaps 10s of thousands of deaths. But we can't sue them, and despite the fact that their brand is about as attractive as human excrement on your favorite rug, we can't make them go away. They are NOT ACCOUNTABLE.
So why not privatize them. There are some who would ask "Do you really want a private company to test your drugs?" But the FDA already does not test our drugs. The drug makers themselves test their own drugs, which is the FDA really great idea (sarcasm). And the FDA's certification process is already a big, fat failure. And they are enraging and alienating alternative health practitioners and consumers. Privatizing them would force them to do a good job, just like UL does.
You are encouraged to virulize this email.
Sincerely,
Roger Bird