How to recognize bullshit
Jan. 31st, 2017 11:32 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
timelets“The pricing has been astronomical,” Trump said to chief executives of some of the world’s biggest drugmakers, who came to Washington after his criticism of the industry earlier this month sent drug and biotechnology stocks plunging. “You folks have done a very great job over the years but we have to get the prices down.”
https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2017-01-31/trump-meets-with-drugmakers-as-industry-fears-price-controls
Trump speaks the language of entertainment — "astronomical, good job, get the prices way down" — not the language of business. In business, "astronomical" means nothing because it doesn't translate into specific numbers. "Good job" also means nothing because it's a typical platitude equivalent to a pat on the back. "Get the prices way down" is meaningless because it lacks specificity: down to what levels? should we start firing workers to cut down the costs? reduce R&D?
He talks about reducing regulation costs, but he has no idea about by how much. Negotiating without knowing the value of your offer is an obvious bluff. Everybody around the table sees through it. Furthermore, he has no idea about the liability aspects of fast-track pharma approvals. To any corporate CEO, he looks like a dangerous buffoon who can destroy an entire industry and hurt consumers because of his total lack of knowledge. Or he may do something that benefits the industry in the short term but kills a bunch of patients in 10 years, long after he's gone. Who's going to pay for that?
