Since the stock market/housing etc are going wonkers here is a good video on our present monetary system that the Federal Reserve controls...
Money as Debt (http://www.brasschecktv.com/page/135.html)
i do not need to look at that I can tell already...
ever since i went to university borrowed money I cannot afford to pay back I realised the nature of this economy is debt driven and that our money is barely worth the paper it is printed on... We are one event from the us greenback collapsing like the peso... being worth 1/1000th of what it is worth today
All my friends and family start looking for the exits when I start talking about the lie that is the american currency
I know it's very Un-American, but we haven't carried any debt for decades. Unless you want to count the monthly credit card purchases, but they're paid off every month in full the day before the due date.
I wish we could do that, Don, but with both of us working only a few days per week often it's a matter of just having to use the card and try to get it back to a zero balance in a month or two. We have no mortgage or car payments, but just things like pump or computer repairs, stuff that comes up very rarely, is hard to budget for.
Understood Pete. Took a while to get there/here. We have an "oops" savings account, sometimes a "no risk CD). We use the card like real money, seldom use coin/currency/checks. Then we collect cash back on the purchases. Works for us.
The important thing is to be able to think of what cash you really have and use the card accordingly... not use the card to it's max, to buy any cool thing that strikes your fancy, without thinking. I'm not sure where or how I learned that, but we passed it on to our son and I'm happy to say that it stuck. If we did nothing else right we've at least taught him fiscal responsibility. :)
We're trying to whittle our debt down - Glenn changed from well drilling to structural steel approx 8 yrs ago so it's like starting all over buying equipment etc. Then we bought the 2 properties in the mtns, but we are getting there... able to take more time off to relax or do the things we want to do :) - debt just hangs over you... I'm always looking to find the best deals, best interest etc.
Here's another article about the Federal Reserve - this one from MSNBC... The thing about the Federal Reserve a central bank - they not only allow unscrupulous investment banks to rape the people who invest, but they are backed by the US gov't & therefore, it comes right out of our pockets in the form of taxes & inflation >:(
http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/ContrarianChronicles/CentralBanksAreStealingFromTheAverageCitizen.aspx
Central banks are stealing from the average citizen
What happens when fiscal irresponsibility gets rewarded with bailouts? You get more fiscal irresponsibility. Let's stop rescuing greedy financiers and investors.
By Bill Fleckenstein
As regular readers know, I have been a longtime critic of the Federal Reserve. Not too far back, that view was a decidedly minority one.
But as our credit bubble undergoes an ugly unwinding, it's dawning on folks that central banks lie at the epicenter of the problem. Andy Xie nailed it in Tuesday's Financial Times, which is why I've chosen to begin my column with quotes from his article "It's time for central banks to stop bailing out markets." con't at link above
sassy
the central bank will always try to bail out the market to avoid any hiccups in the economy...
Because they are all in bed with one another....People like you and me are not on their radar and of no importance to them.
There has to be this sense of endless optimism where average americans spend all of their paychecks on their bills...House payments, car payments, personal loans, university loans.... they effectively keep the economy going and the banks make record profits....All because they believe the good times will never end and thus are unfazed by living in a situation where they are maxed out on debt payments.
You can expect continual government involvement in making sure the economy just keeps going as per usual. they will manipulate interest rates and pour money into the stock market..floating bonds whatever it takes to stabilize the market...
Sassy you are a smart gal....We are all on the long windy road to hell here...I think you know that.
Good for you and Glenn Sassy. When one decides on a career change there are often expenses incurred. Sort of like when we decided to emigrate from Canada to NM, USA. Sounds like you try your best and pay attention to the details.
The MSN article made some good points, but I have some more fundamental points as well.
As far as the Fed goes, whether or not one agrees, disagrees, or is totally ignorant of their monetary policy, they are not solely to blame for the state of an individuals personal economy. There is another important factor at work. Or rather, this other factor is not at work. Two words. Personal Responsibility.
No one holds a gun to your head to force you sign that long term mortgage for the over-sized, too expensive new home. No one holds a gun to your head to force you to take out a 6 year loan for that brand new, shiny, glitzy SUV or luxury auto. No one held a gun to your head when you put that vacation cruise, trip, whatever on a credit card. Ditto for the "gotta have it" Iphone, the latest Sony Playstation, the large screen plasma TV, and so on ad finitum. Certainly we are all tempted and enticed daily by persuasive advertising, by low monthly payments, no down payment, the "Joneses". What folly! Those are all personal decisions. They are choices one freely makes. It's those choices to satisfy instant self gratification that get most people into financial trouble. That is most people with the exception of those who were really forced into their untenable situation by health issues, and problems with the health care system. But that is another story, and a serious one, but another topic.
Some will say they purchased the expensive new home as an investment, to take greater advantage of income tax deductions. That not an investment, that's speculation. And the tax deduction is just that, a deduction. You get a portion of the interest back, but you're still paying interest!
Used cars are some of the best bargains out there. Somebody else paid the first year (the first minute) depreciation. As far as being used, so what? Cars last much longer than in the past when I purchased my first car.
Too many people were never taught to look at the real costs of credit purchases. Too many people were not taught the difference between "I need" and "I want" Whose fault is that? Well, it could be your parents. Or it could be the fault of Government Schools, not educating you properly. Or a combination. Or a personal addiction; gambling, drugs, alcohol. You can point fingers in many directions. But the finger should really be pointed at you . But you can't place the blame entirely on somebody else. At some point one has to take personal responsibility for all the self controllable aspects of personal life. That is, IF you want to exercise your ability to enjoy liberty and freedom, as much as one can, you must.
The ability to buy on credit certainly has it's place. Emergencies and unexpected expenses do occur all the time. But make a decent effort to pay the plastic off in the short term. Better yet, you might actually be able to save some money in a savings account for some such "rainy day". What a novel idea! Save money for the future rather than go into debt for the future. Whatever happened to the beliefs of our parents and grand parents?
So before placing the blame on the Fed, the government, the big banks, the credit card companies, take a hard look at how you got where you are. As far as spending, or not spending my money having a detrimental effect on the economy I'm not worried. I'm confident that the majority out there will not pause to really think about their debt load, other than to complain. For you, it will be business as usual. For those with a work ethic, a sense of personal responsibility, you will be able to thumb your nose at the banks and credit card companies and have them working for you. Interest bearing savings, real investments that grow over time, money you can spend today and not pay back for 20 - 30 days (on your credit card, while the monies grows a little in the bank account). What a deal!
As far companies making record profits let me simply say there is a difference between gross dollar profit and profit margins. Another topic, again. Invest wisely, don't speculate, don't be greedy. Invest in companies that make/provide things people need, not things they want. If you manage your personal finances properly you can take part in the profits by having money to invest. Let them help you make money you can use later.
I'm finished. Have a nice day.
Intersting article on how/why a lot of folks fool themselves about their money/debt.
http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/financial-literacy2004/debt-psychology.asp
Don
We are on the same page man...
I was speaking about the nation as a whole when I said we were all on the long windy road to hell...
Just because you and I have gotten our finances in order does not change the status of the economy for the country
Our banks our financial institutions are all 100% reliant on the debt economy..And as a result the nation is on a razor thin edge balancing the credit status and the value of the american dollar
If everyone stopped maxing out credit cards tomorrow for i phones and play stations.. if retail sales were down 40% across the country there would be a stock market collapse and another recession like the depression of 80 years ago
There would be systemwide forclosure on everything...The us dollar would be de-valued and we would all be screwed.
The stock market the forecasts the interest rates are all dependant upon the debt economy.... without the continuation of the debt way of life there would systematic failure and collapse of this country as we know it.
Walmart Visa mastercard the auto industry they all know that people cannot afford to buy products at the rate in which they want to sell them....So they allow people to buy on credit and make money off the debt...sales are artificially inflated stocks go up and the economy just keeps going.
They are counting on the country living beyond it's means this country is set up for the citizens to be in debt to their ears...To spend out of control to have new cars and new homes.... If that changed the fabric of this countries economy would be undone
Just a big pyramid scheme like Enron... :-/
QuoteJust a big pyramid scheme like Enron... :-/
and Social Security.
well
Social security actually worked perfectly...Did exactly what it was supposed to do...
Until Bush and Cronies took 800 billion dollars from it
Left alone it would have been a worldwide example of how socialism can work perfectly by the people for the people
Social Security has one major flaw as I see it. That is, the amount of money being collected is not increasing fast enough to pay the increasing numbers who are or will soon be eligible to collect.
Social Security was originally introduced as a safety net. It was not intended to be a person's sole or major source of retirement funds. Which takes us back to Personal Responsibility and the lack of Americans saving money. I've never planned on Social Security as being a major retirement funding source, and it will not be that. It's "found money" as far as I'm concerned.
Traditionally as people aged they depended upon their family to help provide for them. This has become more difficult as the family has both shrunk and expanded. Shrunk, as in fewer children and expanded, as in moving great distances from where they were born.
Don
Again social security was designed to allow for this...The baby boomer generation doubled the number of people before them...so in essence for 40 years the system had twice as many people paying in as drawing out...Which is where the massive 11 trillion or whatever came from and now the feds have stolen 75% of that money...
So now when the baby boomers start retiring there is going to be a problem
Had it been left alone there would of course be absolutely no problem whatsoever
No, don't worry the baby boomers are not going to live very long once they retire they are all going to get as many and as much narcotics as they want/need and thier major organs wont sustain longivity. It's all part of the bigger plan. The system has it all figured out get the old people on dope and they will die sooner, ya maybe some younger ones will die to but the target is the older folks. They have to make sure everyone is broke and depressed too or they wont be able to carry off hteir plan because if eople figure it out there will be outrage and pademonium. Social security will be just fine once they get rid of a bunch of old folks.
Thanks, Tanya, I needed that. :)
The Doctors, pharmaceutical companies and politicians are working on it as fast as they can. My brother-in-law is on 17 medications and thinks he needs them all. My neighbor had to quit all the prescribed medications to get over most of his problems -- he had about 10 -- if I think about it I could come up with a lot more.
QuoteSocial security will be just fine once they get rid of a bunch of old folks.
tanya, I hope you had your tongue firmly planted in your cheek when you wrote that. First of all, Baby Boomers are not old. Baby Boomers are widely thought of as those Americans, Canadians and Australians born between 1946 and 1964. However, many divide them into two sub-groups, the primary or real boomers, those born between '46 and '55 - '57. Also referred to as the Vietnam generation. Then the trailing edge boomers born until '60 - '64. Selecting the primary group that would be people aged approx 52 to 62. Hardy old.
The old folks are the parents of the boomers.
Boomers are not all on "dope", and if my circle of boomer friends is any indication (and maybe we're not) most of us are not on drugs that are going to kill us or turn us into thoughtless zombies. True, there are a few blood pressure meds and some cholesterol reducers in use between the lot of us. But on the whole we're active and taking reasonable care of ourselves.
Your comment rubbed me the wrong way. So being "old and crotchety" I had to let my mouth follow my thoughts.
I agree with you for the most part, Don.
The ones tanya mentioned I believe are more of a minority, rough guess 5% who went to the wars - saw too much they couldn't deal with - don't especially want to talk about it and will never be the same.
We have to remember that there are a bunch of our young people currently lost to drugs and alcohol and that many of them are depleting the Social Security System also. "Oh-my, can't function due to drugs -- here's your check." Still they are not a majority.
...but let a working man have a medical problem knock him out of work and it is impossible to get that SS check.
Quotesaw too much they couldn't deal with - don't especially want to talk about it and will never be the same.
And what happened to them is most unfortunate. I know a number, some have died, some are wrecks, but most don't exhibit any visible trauma. How different people handle those types of things is extremely varied and impossible to forecast. There but for the grace of God and my parents living on the north side of the US/Canada border went I. Thing is, back then I might've even enlisted. :-/ Tho' the Canadian armed forces, such as they are/were, didn't want me because of my eyesight. But they were less in need of soldiers/sailors/airmen.
Yes, and then there's the young drug abusers. I have much less sympathy for them, or more correctly no sympathy at all. They do suck resources up that could actually do more good elsewhere. I don't know what should be done with them; prison costs too much, another suck on the tax payer dollar. Too many on the cultural left make excuses for their bad behavior; "it's not their fault, it's because they're poor, because they didn't have a live at home Dad, because of this, that or another thing. Ooops, sorry. Not too PC of me and there I go again meandering off into the "Personal Responsibility" arena again.
And tonight I'm probably in a particularly foul mood after spending a couple hours at the local Jemez forest service meeting regarding the FS Travel Management Plan. By their measure "my forest", the Santa Fe NF would go from approx 8300 miles of routes as present to 3198 miles as they propose. Just another rant. But not nearly as bad as the proposal for the Coconino NF in AZ.... going from hundreds or thousands of miles down to 24.5 in their proposal!!
G'nite
If we could figure something to do about things like tampering with recreational public property, that would be great. The system is broken in this area too. The bureaucrats are stealing our land -- and for what. :-?
Tons of public land around here is being illegally locked down by our BLM etc. public servants, to the point of them even locking off public roads that are access to land locked private property.
Sorry 'bout my little outburst there, Don -- that probably didn't help you any did it? :-/
The SFNF proposal is still just a proposal. I did take particular pleasure in pointing out to them that they had forgotten at least one forest road that was still nescessay even tho' they had neglected to put it on the proposed route maps. That is the road I use to get to my little piece of paradise. They did apologize and even tried to make a joke of it as they realized that it's the same road used by the former FR District Head Ranger to get to his land. (He's now in CO for a year or so as he advances thru the system towards retirement. Another Boomer.)
QuoteSorry 'bout my little outburst there, Don -- that probably didn't help you any did it? :-/
I put the cause of that down to your advancing age and creeping drug induced senility. ;D ;D ;D
You got it Don -- sometimes I'm not even aware of my own presence. :-/
Think I'll run out and get me some Yerba Santa (http://www.flowersociety.org/Yerba_About.htm) :)
Darn stuff's hard to OD on though. ....but you can smoke it. :o
Well I am not saying every old person is going to go on dope but they sure are offered it and those who don't know any better often go for it and find out later it is hard to get off of. I know old when I see it and believe me once you hit 40 well.... and I am older than that so I can say that. Face facts people when you get old you start to feel it and if there is someone offering to take that pain away or help with depression high blood pressure etc . you might very well take them up on it you might even think it is in your best interest. BUT really those drugs both the narcotics and the rest of the stuff they have available these days, allergy meds, high blood pressure etc. well those are hard on the major organs if you take them you will die sooner or maybe later. The medical industry does not continue to grow by leaps and bounds by making people healthy. And if they can get some folks before they reach social security age well.... a bird in the grave is better than two in the bush.
I avoid doctors every chance I get and don't take any prescription drugs, except when it is totally unavoidable. Last time was when some government mosquitoes escaped from Plum Island - Lab 257 (http://www.amazon.com/Lab-257-Disturbing-Governments-Laboratory/dp/0060011416/ref=pd_bbs_2/103-1846044-8918222?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1187990785&sr=1-2) gave me West Nile. (Or at least every symptom you can associate with it. County wouldn't test for it as they want to say they haven't had any occurrences here.)
Quote... help with depression high blood pressure etc . you might very well take them up on it you might even think it is in your best interest. BUT really those drugs both the narcotics and the rest of the stuff they have available these days, allergy meds, high blood pressure etc. well those are hard on the major organs if you take them you will die sooner or maybe later.
tanya, to that I say, I am one of those who has been unfortunately
blessed cursed with genes from parents who both had blood pressure and cholesterol issues. I've also inherited some other problems from them, which luckily I'm mostly able to live with, with only occasional Rx drug use.
Background facts, which shaped some of my life choices....
Dad died when he was 60 after years of lousy health, not because of the drugs but because he was foolish and didn't look after himself. He had headaches for years before he saw a doctor and by then his heart had been so over stressed there was little or nothing that could be done. He ended up with an O2 bottle as his best friend.
Mom died at the age of 85 and until the last 6 months had a full life. I don't know how long she was on medications, but it was many years, 20+. However, at age 84+ she was still fit enough to walk the quarter mile to the grocery store, and back, in the dead of a Canadian winter. She lived in her own apartment after finally selling the house her Dad and us kids grew up in at about age 75. Sounds pretty impressive to me. In summer you couldn't keep her home. And she was not a health nut. Shortly after her 85th she had a hip fracture and a replacement, but never fully regained her mobility. She was saddened over her inability to do personal things for herself. She was waiting for a space in a "retirement" facility when she decided she wanted nothing of it and stopped eating. She died on her own terms, the way I'd prefer to go.
Okay,
I remain active. I don't smoke. I avoid foods that are unkind to blood pressure, cholesterol, intestinal health, etc. I always have to get the salt cellar when I forget to place it on the table for guests. July 4th was a highlight day of the summer... I grilled some wonderful porterhouse steaks, first steak in I don't know how long...
No matter what I do, my blood pressure has steadily increased over the years. My cholesterol remains borderline. To maintain a 75/110 blood pressure I need assistance from drugs. Without them I easily hit 90-100/150+. So my choice is to take "dope" as you so eloquently put it, or have high blood pressure.
Seriously what choice is there?? Say No to meds and "tough it out?" I didn't think those odds were worth playing. By now I'd probably have had a stroke or if lucky a really big coronary and gone out with a kaboom, albeit some prematurely from my perspective.
Or maybe somebody, spurred on by some actuarial bean-counter somewhere, will round me up because I'm "old" and having too much fun, living off my hard earned money, money that was invested in large US corporations (yes, even oil & gas :o ... starting with Esso a way way back in Canada.) and grew and grew, and haul me off to a rehabilitation camp where I'll disappear. (That's a grammatically very poor sentence, but it gets the idea across, I hope...)
QuoteAnd if they can get some folks before they reach social security age well.... a bird in the grave is better than two in the bush.
That is a totally callous view of another human being's life.
That's my opinion and I'm entitled to it just as you are yours. Have a great day.
Hey Don, have you tried garlic or garlic pills for blood pressure. My mom suggested it to a friend who wasn't having luck with medications, and it totally brought it under control in a very short time and he doesn't need the meds. I just saw him last week and he's doing great - no more problem. :)
I didn't get whether that is tanya's view or it is her take on how the population control promoters feel. There is a faction who wants to see the population about cut in half if I recall correctly.
Thanks, Glenn.
The short story is, Yes. I tried garlic. The longer story is...
Way back when the Doc first noticed my pressure seemed to be higher than it was the year before, we did several checks over a couple weeks and it was pretty much the same each time. We got into dietary changes. That put things on hold for a while.
Then there was a increase again. I took to daily monitoring at home just to see if it was higher at the Doc's office than elsewhere... my Mom had a problem with hers being higher when at the Docs. My machine, the free grocery store machine and the doctors were much in sync. There was no mistake, BP was relentlessly rising. I changed jobs to what I perceived as less stressful. No change. Tried garlic pills among a host of other herbs, etc, breathing exercises and so on. Tried everything for at least 60 days to give it a chance. Nothing noticeable.
After leaving the official work world a year ago and just working part time for ourselves, I had my visions of my BP being lower due the removal of work pressures, shattered when a few months after, my BP had only dropped a few points. Nice, but not enough to reduce the dose or quit altogether. A trial small reduction in dosage over a couple months had negative (higher BP) results. Switching back soon had my BP back down.
Some things have genetics working for them, other work against them. I drew a bad lot. :-/ So who knows what the future will bring. We'll get there some day. :)
I know that one -- mine used to go up when the nurse would put the cuff on. :)
Don
well omega 3 reduces plaque in arteries and increases circulation...It would only stand to reason that it would lower blood pressure as well
Garlic is not the be all and end all... Several great natural things to try with the blood pressure
Omaga-3, like a lot of things probably has a consumption point, beyond which produces no further benefit.
Since I've been a large consumer of salmon, sardines, herring, mackerel (At least one dinner and four to six lunches a week), plus use a flax seed oil supplement among the vitamin package I take, I'm more than likely at the point where increasing the intake doesn't produce any noticeable further benefit.
well you might be right...
Soemtimes you just get a raw deal genetically ;)
That's what I think. :(
well you might be right...
Soemtimes you just get a raw deal genetically ;)
but you know..Aspirin therapy wors for a lot of people...And there is the mediterranean trick of a couple glases of wine a day to thin the blood
Aspirin and it's derivatives is a general no-no for me for allergic reasons (as well as the family of supha drugs... They almost killed me once.)
I've always been a red wine fan and dinner user :) and was ahead of the game there.
And speaking of Mediterraneans; olive oil is the oil/fat of choice.
I keep reading the title as "Monkey as Debt" then I think, yes a monkey can be expensive.
I really need a vacation.
I'm worried about you Stink. It sounds as though you are thinking very much like I do. :-/
John is close to losing it also. :(
That may not be a good sign. :-?
Maybe you can catch a few Z's during jury duty. :o :)
Oh I know full well about "bad" genes. I have e genetic kidney disorder the docs said would surely kill me when I was a small child, then when I lived they said for sure I would die without this treatment or that treatment, this medicine or that medicine. Well I am still alive and I haven't been to a doctor for anyting in about 20 years. I am pretty sure I would be dead if I had lsitened to them though. Damn viruses and bacteria all around those offices not to mention experimental drugs and incompetent staff. And I do eat a healthy diet sometimes but mostly I just go on faith and it has got me this far so I am sticking with it.
I guess if that has worked for we'd have to say, Great! Doctors are not always correct. But sometimes they are.
I seriously believe that I have dodged 4 bullets so far in my life;
1. hypertension and it's many ways of maiming, killing, blinding, etc. me. Well I haven't cured it but it's under control and has not got any worse with no increase in medications for about 5 years now.
2. a quickly and correctly diagnosed case of Hantavirus (immediate placement on O2 and immediate xfer to the ICU.)
3. a quickly and correctly diagnosed case of sepsis (full body blood infection; one of the worst things that can hit you next to something coronary) (rapid infusion of intravenous anti-biotics and immediate xfer to the ICU again. Same hospital, but different doctors.)
4. a possible bad one. A recurring Odontogenic tumor benign... non spreading to other places in the body, but a total destroyer of bone) in my right mandible; three times over 30 years time. If not for a maxiofacial surgeon who thought an alternative treatment might save the need for radical resection surgery (removal of the tumor and the surrounding bone... in other words, cut out a whole section of jaw bone and toss it away..., followed by multiple reconstructive surgeries)... well he was right. It took 20 months but the tumor shrunk to where a minor day surgery was all that was needed to clean up the bone and sew shut the gum tissue over the holes drilled in my mandible for an three times daily irrigation process.
So I'm not afraid of doctors or modern medicine. I thank them.
Thats great Don - they did good for you. :)
They still scare me though. :o
You do have to keep your eyes wide open....
While in the hospital one time I did catch a nurse carelessly trying to administer drugs for someone else to me in error. I now forget what they were, but it wouldn't have killed me... but I did raise hell over it and never saw that nurse again. It was fortunate I was awake and aware of everything going on.
Most of them are pretty good but -- there are occasional slip ups. Beds full of dead guys don't go over well. :o
Oh I think my doctor was wonderful I consider him one of my best friends I ever had even though I am still mad about some of the choises he made, and the industry mandates can't be trusted at all. Getting back on topic I think that the health care industry and the costs associated with the curtent practices and regulations are one of the biggest problems with our current economy and the bigest sucker fish let loose on Social Security.
My two pennies
If I have some change coming back, great!
For the last ten years have worked at an ER, as a HUC and a EMT. What I have seen and have been told is Doctors legally treat. That means they will in an ER give you almost every test possible so they are not later sued. Even if the chance is less then one percent that you show the symptoms and the signs of something, they will run a test. I have heard Doc's state to me they will not be on a witness stand answering a lawyers question of why they didn't offer or provide a 35.00 test for said patient.
There is also no expressed promise made that you will be healed to point you were prior to becoming ill. Some how this seems to be lost. People have some unreasonable expectations and this is one of the reasons I quit my job this past June. Yes there are some bad Doctors. I have seen some crazy stuff, a person coming into to the ER for a sore throat and expect service within an hour. A sore throat is generally not an emergency, but our ER's our so over burden with non emergency issues due to laws. The system is broke.
You have to understand that government is a pawn of big business and the elite, to wring every penny from the peasants (us)of the working class. That will make it easier to comprehend.
Look at it this way. You like most others are probably only making just enough to barely scrape by. After paying for your housing there is tax on the land, tax on the real estate, tax on your tools to repair your house. Drill a well, put in a sewer etc, you pay tax on the act of doing it through permit fees and annually via increased property taxes.
[highlight]Anything you make above your minimum cost of living is scooped up by one government tax scheme or another.[/highlight]
If you drive you pay road repair taxes on each gallon of fuel. If you work for a living you are taxed annually on your tools. You usually paid sales tax on them when you bought them.
Most of your Federal Tax goes to pay for past and to create more death and destruction. http://www.warresisters.org/piechart.htm
The pharmaceutical and health care industry is invested in heavily by the political elite or promoted by politicians who are purchased by the pharmaceutical industry.
QuoteThat figure was not anomalous. In 2004, drug makers upped their reported expenditures on lobbyists to $123 million, a record amount for the industry. Of the 1,291 lobbyists who were listed that year as prepresenting pharmaceutical corporations and their trade groups, some 52 percent were former federal officials.
http://www.publicintegrity.org/rx/report.aspx?aid=723
QuoteI have heard Doc's state to me they will not be on a witness stand answering a lawyers question of why they didn't offer or provide a 35.00 test for said patient.
And I don't blame Doctors for thinking that way when there are trial lawyers like John Edwards around.