REALITY WILL COME FOR YOUR $35 INSULIN.

Old Franklin Roosevelt thought he could cap the price of gold at $35 an ounce.  Presidential hopefuls have similar delusions about the price of insulin, which, to a diabetic, is worth its weight in gold.  "Do you also have the authority to 'reduce the cost' of bananas, in order that middle-schoolers enjoy access to affordable smoothies? Do you also have the authority to 'reduce the cost' of batteries, in order that aging baby-boomers enjoy access to affordable hearing aids and ultra-radiant tablet screens? How much additional authority do you expect to enjoy?"

Eventually, reality will come up to bat.

Among the "legislative accomplishments" the doddering ficus and his Morale Conditioners love to point to, as if they've done any good, is a law capping the retail price of a dose of insulin at $35, and the veto threat is aimed at any Congressional attempt to repeal the law.

But a retail price of $35 by force of law is no different from a streetcar fare of a nickel (or perhaps, as was the case with the Pernambuco Tramway, five centavos) and sooner or later the opportunity cost of a dose of insulin will exceed $35, which will have to be made up somehow, or else there will be no more insulin on offer.

It's telling, I suppose, that more people made fun of the "frisizhnjubs" than they did of the economic ignorance that a president, or any other secular or sacred official, can dictate what the cost of anything is.  In Official Washington, though, the fantasy is the policy.  "While you reap the consequences of their failures, the Biden administration seems more interested in woke fantasies than the hard reality Americans face every day."  Never mind the woke fantasies, dear reader, contemplate the belief that the president can command the price of prescription drugs, er, frisizhnjubs, to stay stable.

The chief engineer just rang the bridge, reporting that the main engines lost power. "Eli Lilly warns of shortage of insulin products."  Let us be grateful it is not, yet, a regulation-induced general shortage.  "'The 10 mL [millilter] vials of Humalog® and Insulin Lispro Injection are or will be temporarily out of stock at wholesalers and some pharmacies through the beginning of April,' Lilly said in a recent statement."

Because of the way government-approved insurance plans work, some customers will be affected more adversely than others.

"We recognize that any supply challenge may cause a disruption in people's treatment regimens, and we are moving with urgency to address it," its statement said.

"Patients who need insulin immediately and cannot access their healthcare provider for an alternative treatment option should seek emergency care," the company added.

Lilly spokesman Tarsis Lopez told CNN that the "dynamic nature of insulin supply and demand, coupled with a brief delay in manufacturing, led to the temporary supply constraint."

Market dynamism and Technocratic process rarely mix well.