It's worth researching the inevitable consequences of price controls, it's a predictable outcome that's been tested many times.
Price controls are Hobson's choice: Would you prefer expensive bread, or no bread?
Price controls are Hobson's choice: Would you prefer expensive bread, or no bread?
And, to many, the difference between "expensive bread" and "no bread" in the case of drugs is entirely academic.
This obviously kind of sucks when the drug is the difference between life and death, but those are also the drugs we most want a large incentive to develop, and that's why the patents eventually expire.
> Consider the example of a Taylor Swift concert. Are scalpers creating more supply by raising the prices of tickets or is it pure rent seeking?
Scalpers are trading time for money. You want tickets that would otherwise sell out but you don't want to wait in line, so you pay someone to wait in line for you. It causes tickets to be available at the higher price instead of being sold out and unavailable at any price. The way to prevent the rent seeking is to auction off the tickets to begin with so the money goes to the artist instead of the scalpers.