The women’s World Cup Soccer tournament has started, and the US women have won their first two games. At the same time, the subject of pay for the United States Women’s National Team (USWNT) has received more attention. In 2016, five of the more prominent members of the team filed a complaint with the EEOC, alleging that discrimination is limiting their salaries compared to US men. Personally, I believe the players could solve this problem by recognizing and exercising the considerable pricing power they have.
Just before the Memorial Day weekend, it was reported that AveXis, a Novartis division, was launching a new gene therapy treatment at a price of $2.125 million. Predictably, there were soon numerous articles and tweets bemoaning the price, calling the company evil, and demanding more regulation of drug pricing. My solution is simpler. Use the economic principles of supply and demand to reduce prices. Don’t buy treatments that don’t add value at high prices and increase competition among suppliers.