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Democracy & Technology Blog Go Gottlieb

See a former colleague of mine Scott Gottlieb getting slimed by the Seattle Times for — gasp — knowing something about financial markets. Scott used to write the Gilder Biotech Report and the Forbes Medical Technology Report, and he recently went back to the FDA as one of three deputy commissioners. The reporter seems to think that only people who don’t like the pharmaceutical/medical technology industry should work at the FDA. Most people in government have little experience with business and financial markets, and so a Scott Gottlieb here or there is not only not going to hurt anyone but in fact provides a much needed new perspective in an institution that has trailed its foreign counterparts in approving new lifesaving medicines and procedures. We need more people from business and finance to do stints in government, not fewer. America will be healthier with Gottlieb at FDA.

-Bret Swanson

Bret Swanson

Bret Swanson is a Senior Fellow at Seattle's Discovery Institute, where he researches technology and economics and contributes to the Disco-Tech blog. He is currently writing a book on the abundance of the world economy, focusing on the Chinese boom and developing a new concept linking economics and information theory. Swanson writes frequently for the editorial page of The Wall Street Journal on topics ranging from broadband communications to monetary policy.