Quote:
Originally Posted by HarryT
Because the cost of doing business is very different in different parts of the world. That's a simple fact.
. . .
By levelling it upwards for the poorer parts of the world, I very much fear  . |
Harry, the problem with your approach is the problem we Americans face with drugs. We subsidize the research and manufacturing by paying very high prices, just to see the exact same drug, from the same plant and manufacturing line, sold, for excample, in Canada for 50% less. The reason for the price disparity is that it is illegal for Americans to import the drug from Canada and thus there is no pressure to reduce prices.
Our Food and Drug Administration and the drug manufacturers admit there is no difference at all between the American and Canadian versions, except for the market and that Canada controls drug pricing whereas America does not.
What Wiley wanted was to replicate the situation with drugs for books. Without the resale doctrine as SCOTUS upheld it, the already exorbitant prices paid for textbooks would likely increase in the United States because there would be no effective competition. Pricing is only exorbitant and not highly exorbitant today because of the secondary market.
As for other countries and that pricing might rise there, it isn't clear to me why Americans should be concerned. Why is it the American consumer's responsibility to subsidize non-American consumers?