As my two boys each moved through their ear-infection, sniffle-saturated years, I never ceased to be amazed at how many of their friends were carted off to the doctor at the mere sight of a runny nose and subsequently pumped full of needless and expensive antibiotics. It seemed like a horrible way to train kids to deal with the vicissitudes of life, and also contributes to the problem of breeding med-resistant germs.

It’s a bonafide problem, then, so for some the proper response is a tax. A Resources for the Future report argues that the government should both levy a special tax on antibiotics, to discourage their prescription and use, as well as provide new subsidies to encourage pharmaceutical companies to develop new antibiotics.

Yes, my reflexive response is the same as most Corner readers — only, I suppose that one might argue overuse of antibiotics creates a negative externality, imposing sometimes fatal costs on other patients and justifying a Pigouvian response via taxation. Or maybe I’m just coming down with something and going woozy.