Big Parma: A License to Steal

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart

When Congress allowed big businesses to incorporate in 1906, they literally offered both tax dodges, and the right to conduct business with few restrictions.

The 14^th Amendment, as interpreted by the Supreme Court, gave corporations “personhood,” with the same “rights” as regular citizens. One of those decisions involved “citizens united,” when the rules regarding campaign contributions by corporations changed, and the super-rich were allowed to “buy” elections.

I have learned over my 78 years that all corporations are evil: all of their CEO’s etc., are greedy and make outrageous profits while causing great harm to consumers. “Greedflation” is the practice of unnecessarily raising the costs of commodities for the sole purpose of increasing profits. The corporations who provide our food continue to overprice every item at your grocery store, and the only reason is pure greed.

THE WORST OF THE WORST

It is true that all corporations are disrespected, and should be, but the worst of the worst are companies known as “Big Pharma.” In collusion with your government, including the FDA, they have a license to steal.

Anyone who worked in retail, knows that many of the items we purchase are “keystoned.” That means that the cost of producing the item is doubled, and becomes the retail price.

However, that is not true with the pharmaceutical industry. Many of the life-saving drugs carry a retail price of as much as 1,000 percent.

I won’t list the excuses offered by the drug companies because I have only one word for their explanations: bullshit.

Let me offer one of the most used drugs in the world, insulin. The cost in the United States is 99 dollars: in Japan, 14 dollars, and Canada, 12 dollars.

I know someone who needs a certain drug to maintain a decent quality of life. His yearly cost is more than 30,000 dollars for that one prescription.

The saddest part of this story is the articles of corporation allow them to raise prices any time they choose, and they do.

Here is a chart of several countries and the price of insulin. It will not surprise you that the price in America is far greater than any other nation, which is in line with our country’s healthcare costs in general.

[The average cost of insulin by country: 🇺🇸 U.S.: $99 🇨🇱 Chile: $21 🇲🇽 Mexico: $16 🇯🇵 Japan: $14 🇨🇭 Switzerland: $12 🇨🇦 Canada: $12 🇩🇪 Germany: $11 🇰🇷 Korea: $10 🇱🇺 Luxembourg: $10 🇮🇹 Italy: $10 🇳🇱 Netherlands: $10 🇮🇪 Ireland: $10 🇪🇪 Estonia: $10 🇫🇷 France: $9 🇪🇸 Spain: $9 🇫🇮 Finland: $9 🇳🇿 New Zealand: $9 🇱🇻 Latvia: $8 .]

Don’t forget that the United States is the only nation without universal healthcare for all.

WHY DOES OUR FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IGNORE THIS ATROCITY?

Politics is the ugliest profession in the world, and the most disrespected. Our elections are the most expensive in the world. Candidates rely on big corporations to fund their campaigns, and one of those corporations is included in the companies we refer to as “Big Pharma.” As long as large companies can buy votes in Congress, you will pay more than necessary for everything.

The word is corruption, and in the 21^st century the government of the United States of America is the most corrupt in the world.

NO SECRET ANY LONGER

It is now a well-known fact that those who call themselves Republicans are owned by big business. They will lie about the facts, but their voting records cannot cover-up those lies. Lobbies ranging from the Christian Religious Right to Big Pharma and the Petroleum industry spend millions of dollars each year to buy the votes of right-wing politicians. In essence, you are paying for their elections when you are forced to pay huge prices for necessities.

Op-ed by James Turnage

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Sources: https://www.history.com/news/14th-amendment-corporate-personhood-made-corporations-into-people

https://aspe.hhs.gov/reports/changes-list-prices-prescription-drugs