Matt, you are absolutely right that the cost of a drug has nothing to do with what it cost to develop it.

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In other words, most of the increases in the acquisition cost of the F-35 have nothing to do with the performance of the prime contractor.

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But authorities are also on the wrong side of long-term, demographic pressures that have nothing to do with tackling the deficit - because people are living longer, the total cost of looking after older people is increasing relentlessly.

BBC: Tough times in local government