Malachi151

Yeah, we better get rid of social security, graduated income taxes, medicaid, and medicare, and labor laws too cause they are all socialist too

Yes, we will be importing the socialist price control of those countries, which is a great thing.

JGL53

Exactly, Malachi. In addition, we survive 'socialism' at the post office, the prison systems, the building and maintenance of bridges and highways, etc. We have huge numbers of employed Americans at the federal, state, and local government levels.

A pure capitalistic society is as mad a dream as an actual communistic one. I'm a pragmatist, not a socialist or capitalist, i.e, whatever works. At the present time, the major pharmaceutical companies are totally out of control, just like the robber barons in the 19th century in oil and the railroads.

It's time for the American government to nationalize the drug companies, for the health and welfare of the general population.

The latest figures I'm familiar with show the drug companies spending 13 per cent of their profits on R&D and 16 per cent on sales promotion (free gifts, read bribes, to physicians), lobbyists and advertisement. And their yearly profits are billions and billions more than any other industry, including auto manufacturers, big oil, AT&T, all computer software companies, you name it.

The drug companies aren't evil because of their profitability. To mix metaphors, they are evil because of the manipulative methods they use to shove their will down the throats of everybody - the elderly, physicians, congress, or whoever gets in their way.

If the pharmaceutical companies were nationalized, the 16 per cent could either be plowed into research and/or just done away with to reduce drug costs to the consumers. For incentives, individual scientists and their research assistants and other ancillary help could be given huge bonuses for discovering new drug entities.

All the salesmen and lobbyists could all be provided with make work jobs - sweeping the sidewalks, visiting the sick, working in soup kitchnsn, etc. - with a pay of a reasonable salary of, say, $20,000 a year for a 40 hour week, and we'd all STILL come out billions of dollars ahead.

Loren Pechtel

If we saw that high a fraud rate I wouldn't call the risk acceptable.

That's not 1/2% of patients, that's 1/2% of the drugs--since people buy many batches of drugs over time the odds quickly add up that you'll get a fake batch.

Loren Pechtel

What the drug companies should do is set up a system to trace every batch of drugs.

Clutch

Will it involve pointing out that Canada has, or sought to have, or possesses the ability to develop, weapons of mass destruction?

Of course Loren will favour the military destruction of Canada, since we've clearly "given America the finger"...

Kat_Somm_Faen

No doubt, LP!

No doubt!

But the issue is that THIS argument was not raised and instead they went ahead with name calling. Also, if something is "socialism" it does not mean it is inherently evil. Instead arguing issues they go ahead with the slander and name calling. I am really failing to see how calling someone a socialist helps solving this issue! We need a discussion and not narowminded, knee-jerk reaction. Why do they not examine the proposal based on its merrits and research, data and sound medical and economic opinions? This "socialism" deal is beyond stupid.

You got to say that that kind of policy making is counter productive.

Loren Pechtel

Just about everything gets equated to socialism by somebody.