President Trump’s executive order on Monday turned a harsh spotlight on pharmaceutical companies’ long-standing practice of charging Americans far more for prescription drugs than they charge consumers in other countries. The order’s language remains vague — it mentions only future “price targets” and possible enforcement mechanisms — but the message is unmistakable: The U.S. government will no longer tolerate paying inflated prices for drugs when European governments negotiate far lower ones.Americans crushed by high drug costs also vote — and they can elect a president and Congress willing to rewrite the rules. Trump’s order addresses just one part of a larger, deeply rooted problem: the runaway cost of prescription drugs in the United States. A major contributor to that cost is the pricing of patent-protected drugs, which face no competition and often come with astronomical price tags.Pharmaceutical companies now operate under a politically dangerous business model. They enjoy government-granted patent protections to block competition, while squeezing insurers and patients to extract maximum profit. This isn’t capitalism. It’s a merger of legal monopoly and short-sighted corporate greed — a textbook example of protectionism paired with profit-maximization stripped of ethical restraint.Legally, these companies act within their rights. But politically, they’re playing with fire. Americans crushed by high drug costs also vote — and they can elect a president and Congress willing to rewrite the rules. Trump’s executive order sends a warning. If the pressure builds, Congress will follow with legislation.In a free-market ideal, companies compete to win consumers by offering better, cheaper products. That’s good. But when a company invents something new — especially something as vital as a life-saving drug — it deserves a temporary monopoly to recoup research and development costs. That’s why the government issues patents. This, too, is good.Yet, once the government grants monopoly rights, we’re no longer in a purely free market. The question then becomes: What responsibility does the government have not just to the patent-holder but also to the consumers who depend on that drug for survival?Stephen Moore, a senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation, recently addressed one side of the debate in the Washington Times. He criticized so-called “compounders” — companies that tweak existing drugs and resell them without going through the same research-and-development and FDA approval process. Moore called these copycats unsafe and accused them of free-riding on innovation.Compounders clearly respond to market demand but so do pharmaceutical companies charging monopoly prices under government protection. Both “cash in.” One simply does so with fewer legal barriers.If the government takes seriously its role in enforcing patents, it must also consider whether those monopolies serve the public good — or exploit it. Monopoly pricing for essential drugs carries moral consequences. Government can’t ignore them.This brings us to another, equally troubling aspect of the problem: the "America last" approach embedded in current drug pricing practices. Many Americans struggle to afford life-changing medications, while pharmaceutical companies sell those same drugs overseas — at a fraction of the U.S. price. Industry defenders argue that American consumers must bear the brunt of R and D costs, allowing foreign countries to buy at lower “incremental” prices. Without those sales, they say, U.S. prices would rise even higher.But that argument wears thin.Charles Rotter recently posted on X that U.S. drug pricing amounts to backdoor foreign aid. “Other countries’ healthcare systems stay sustainable and affordable because American patients bankroll the difference,” he wrote. “Why should a senior in the U.S. pay dramatically more for the same pill than a senior in France, effectively subsidizing France’s national health system?”Pharmaceutical pricing isn’t just a pocketbook problem. It reflects a broader failure to prioritize American citizens. Companies obeying the letter of the law still fail the test of loyalty and common sense. The system persists only because voters haven’t yet forced change. Trump’s executive order signals they’re starting to.Congress could go further by revisiting patent protections and demanding greater price transparency. The message to Big Pharma should be clear: You can choose to act like responsible corporate citizens and stop bleeding patients dry, or you can wait for the government to do it for you.If drug companies continue to exploit their monopolies, they shouldn’t be surprised when voters — and their elected representatives — decide to break them.

With Baldur’s Gate 3 now wrapped up and no sign of the likes of XCOM 3 quite yet, I’m always keeping an eye out for the next turn-based game to grab my attention. Clair Obscur Expedition 33 has set a high bar for 2025, but I’m tremendously interested in Arthurian adventure Legends of the Round Table. Bringing a blend of storytelling, decision-making, and squad battles to play, wrapped in stunning visuals that look as though they leapt straight off of a tapestry, this upcoming game from Artifice Studio has a new Steam demo you can try today. Continue reading New medieval RPG is like an Arthurian Baldur's Gate that you can try right now MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best indie games, New PC games, Best PC games

Clair Obscur Expedition 33 is very much in fashion right now; Sandfall’s creation is at once a love letter to some of gaming’s best JRPGs, and a powerful step forward for the genre in its own right. It’s won our hearts at PCGamesN with its stunning world and cast of instantly likable characters, so of course the promise of official merchandise for them has perked my ears up. In a new post, Sandfall teases that it’s currently looking into creating an Esquie plushie, as it warns of potential scams from “suspicious websites.” Continue reading Clair Obscur Expedition 33 dev warns of potential scams, plans official merch MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best Clair Obscur Expedition 33 weapons, Best Clair Obscur Expedition 33 builds, Best Clair Obscur Expedition 33 Pictos

Nvidia could be making a new budget gaming GPU that’s even cheaper than the $299 RTX 5060, with an increasing number of reports pointing to the potential launch of an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5050 GPU for desktop gaming PCs. The latest evidence to add to the pile is a filing from Chinese graphics card maker Maxsun, which lists a huge total of 16 RTX 5050 graphics cards, covering various product ranges. While Nvidia hasn’t officially announced this GPU, several leaks about the RTX 5050 have already appeared over the last few months. It’s rumored to contain 2,560 CUDA cores based on the latest Blackwell architecture, along with 8GB of GDDR6 VRAM, rather than the GDDR7 memory used on all the other RTX 5000 cards. With these specs, we wouldn’t expect it to be the absolute best graphics card, of course, but we’re hoping it will be priced generously – there hasn’t been a new sub-$299 gaming GPU from Nvidia for a number of years now, after all. Continue reading This leaked new Nvidia GeForce gaming GPU could cost even less than the RTX 5060 MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 review, Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 review, Best graphics cards

The new FTA administrator has a chance to do the taxpayers and commuters who live and work in the Santa Clara Valley a big favor.

Med schools like Old Dominion University’s have made no meaningful attempt to stop discriminating after the Supreme Court struck down affirmative action.

Sorry, there’s no invasion.

Let’s hope the president continues to reverse his colossal trade war error.

Henry Johnson competes with the American ideal.

The title for the next Super Mario Bros. movie has accidentally been revealed, and it has been confirmed that the second game in the series is being snubbed once again, in favor of skipping to the first SNES entry.