What one night on the town could buy.

• Author: St. Denis, Stephen
• Position: From Readers - Letter to the Editor

As I walked across the middle of New York's Times Square last Saturday night, being dazzled by the lights on Broadway and trying not to become a hood ornament on some fast-moving limo, I saw a headline on an electronic banner about the World Trade Organization deal on allowing poor countries to import generic drugs.

My initial reaction was jubilation, followed by the sudden realization that the cost of one night out in Manhattan can easily exceed what the average person among the poorest fifth of world's population earns in two years. Even at dramatically lower prices, most of these people still...