The obligatory Colin Kaepernick "Just Do It" post

As an unabashed capitalist I believe major corporations such as Nike are free to advertise their product however they see fit. But that doesn't mean one shouldn't question the wisdom of their latest ad campaign.

Colin Kaepernick is back -- at least as far as Madison Avenue is concerned.

The former NFL quarterback, who is suing NFL owners for allegedly colluding to keep him out of the league, is one of the faces of a new Nike campaign meant to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the brand's iconic "Just Do It" motto.

The new ad, which Kaepernick shared on social media Monday afternoon, features the message: "Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything."

Nike signed Kaepernick in 2011 and kept him on its endorsement roster over the years. The company had not used him in the past two years.

"We believe Colin is one of the most inspirational athletes of this generation, who has leveraged the power of sport to help move the world forward," Gino Fisanotti, Nike's vice president of brand for North America, told ESPN.

I guess Nike Corp. feels they're at a point where they've made so much money that they'll be able to financially weather the public relations storm which has already ensued.

As Jim Geraghty notes, perhaps Nike is merely looking to expand its market share to those who are typically hostile towards capitalism.

If you ever wondered what it would take to get the woke Social Justice Warrior crowd to loudly support a multinational corporation with nearly $35 billion in revenue in 2017; that pays its assembly line workers about 2.5 percent of production costs; that faces accusations that its factories bar independent inspections of working conditions; whose workers frequently faint from heat and exhaustion, and suffer wage theft, forced overtime, restrictions on their use of toilets, exposure to toxic solvents, and padlocked exit doors . . . well, apparently Colin Kaepernick is all that it takes.

Wouldn't it be ironic if Kap does somehow make a NFL roster this season and then kneels in protest of billion dollar corporations who implement questionable labor practices?

Seriously though, if SJWs had an ounce of intellectual consistency (BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!! I slay me), they would call on Kap to use his newfound influence with Nike to look into these particular issues. Ah, but as we've witnessed for some time now, most progs deem it better to virtue signal than to actually be virtuous.

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My My, Mylan

There's been much anger and outrage over a recent report that the Mylan pharmaceuticals product called "EpiPen" has increased 400% over the past 8 years. This is the device used to help thwart serious allergies.

Naturally it didn't take long for prominent leftists to pounce on this news. 

EpiPens can be the difference between life and death. There's no justification for these price hikes. https://t.co/O6RbVR6Qim -H

— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) August 24, 2016

Is it such a moral outrage, Mrs. Clinton, that you're willing to return Mylan's donations to the Clinton Foundation?  Yeah, color me skeptical.

There's no reason an EpiPen, which costs Mylan just a few dollars to make, should cost families more than $600. https://t.co/rVWUlMxD0Q

— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) August 18, 2016

Right? Perhaps you can show those evil capitalists a thing or two, Bern, by forgoing the purchase of your third house (a $600,000 lake home) and instead buy 1,000 EpiPens to give to those in need.

Alas, blaming this enormous hike on a capitalistic system makes for a good chanting point but leaves little room for a nuanced discussion.

What is usually left out in any anti-capitalist blather written in response to this controversy is an accurate depiction of how free markets actually work.

In what other markets can a business jack up its prices without alienating its customers and pushing them toward competitors? Answer: when that market has no other competitors. Emily Willingham of Forbes explained it aptly with a recent article titled, “Why Did Mylan Hike EpiPen Prices 400%? Because They Could.”

In early 2016, Sanofi, Mylan’s primary competitor, discontinued its line of Auvi-Q auto-injectors, similar to Mylan’s product. With Auvi-Q out the picture, Mylan gained 98 market share of epinephrine injectors.

But surely a new business will take advantage of this public relations debacle, enter the market, and offer a more affordable option, right?

Unfortunately – and as no surprise to libertarians and free market advocates – federal regulators continue to buffer the padding that surrounds Mylan’s monopoly. Shortly after the Auvi-Q recall, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries pitched a generic version of the EpiPen. However, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) squashed their efforts, citing “major deficiencies” in their application. Teva plans to appeal the decision, but won’t be able to effectively move forward until 2017 at the earliest.

Teva isn’t alone in this struggle. Windgap Medical, a Boston startup, and Adamis, a small biotech firm based in San Diego, have both struggled to bypass FDA’s barriers of entry in the marketplace as well.

You see, it's "progressives" who are all for big government, which includes bureaucratic red tape and burdensome regulations. Yet when the results of "progressive" policies invariably lead to the type of "price gouging" put forth by Mylan, leftist politicians like Sen. Empty Suit Amy Klobuchar swoop in and demand FTC investigations and the like, thus giving the appearance of "fighting for the children."

If forced to speak in front of a Congressional panel and asked what inspired this price hike, (Mylan CEO Heather) Bresch and company should be encouraged to hold up a mirror to lawmakers’ faces.

Indeed.

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