| SPEAKER SERIES
February 2008
Dr. John Lott, Jr.
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Dr. John Lott discusses conservative concepts with Forum members. |
The Conservative Forum of Silicon Valley had a very special event on Tuesday, February 5th. In addition to a world-class author, we celebrated the breadth of the conservative movement as we watched the Super Tuesday primary returns from all over the country. Over 160 conservatives and a half dozen or so local media people observed a great night of political discussion, philosophy and practical politics.
Our speaker was Dr. John Lott, who offered a very professorial analysis of politics and economics in the United States. His main thesis was that the more free enterprise and potential profitability is restricted, the less societal benefits we will get. He provided scores of examples, but none more glaring than pharmaceutical products. Basically, if we have all of the breakthroughs we are ever going to have in the field of medicine and pharmacetical products, then cutting the costs that these entities charge will reduce the cost to the consumer. However, no company will do new research that might cost a half billion dollars or more if there is no chance to recover those costs.
It was at the turn of the 19th Century that Congress came one vote short of closing down the patent office since it was thought that every great idea that could be created had been invented. Likewise, government limiting the cost of prescription drugs could inhibit the future cures for heart disease, diabetes and cancer. In fact, Dr. Lott indicated that just the discussion of such things has already had an inhibiting effect.
Our meeting was co-sponsored by three distinct and diverse organizations - the Values Advocacy Coalition, the Golden State Second Amendment Coalition and the South Peninsula Area Republican Coalition. All of the presidents for these three organizations presented brief outstanding overviews of their respective organizations. We were proud to be the umbrella group for Christian and social conservatives, strong advocates of the second amendment and a diverse group of conservative Republicans.
Following Dr. John Lott's presentation, he took several questions; and he then autographed several of his books for our attendees. Most in attendance stayed around for another 90 minutes watching the presidential returns from around the country. Several of our attendees were interviewed by Channel 4 KRON-TV and Channel 11 KNTV.
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