Hi Leper,
I appreciate your point but is this not the way capitalism works?
Are you saying that there is a better system or some type of a la carte capitalism?
I have something in demand and set the price - it's up to others to decide whether to pay for it or not?
I am not saying that it's right but just the way it is?
Maybe the pharmacist has less turnover during these times and feels justified in increasing his margin to counteract fixed-overheads?
Why should the pharmacists income fall during these times whilst providing a vital public service when the civil servant's income doesn't?
Demand drives the price. You realise, for example, that there are Irish people with terminal conditions going to their pharmacist each month and paying over in excess of €5,000 for medication to improve the quality of their life? In time, the drugs now costing this type of money will reduce significantly in price (and new expensive drugs will come along) but the people who need such drugs, need them now and so will pay the price if they can afford to. If they can't afford to pay for the required medication costs, they will receive inferior treatment and suffer much more. This is modern day Ireland, pre-Covid-19. In other countries, this burden is typically socialised in the sense that where the efficacy is accepted, the State will pick up the tab. It also puts medics in Ireland in a horrible situation as the recommended course of treatment can depend on the patient's finances and that is, in my opinion, reprehensible.