McCain on the Drug Companies

http://www.futureofcapitalism.com/2009/08/mccain-on-the-drug-companies

The Wall Street Journal catches up with Senator McCain for an interview, and the result is a maddening reminder of why he lost. "Never have I seen such a transfer from the private enterprise system to the government of such massive scale," Mr. McCain tells the journal, mentioning the auto companies, the banks, insurance companies, and the stimulus package. So far, he's making some sense. Then the talk goes around to health care and the pharmaceutical industry: "by the way, if the pharmaceutical companies can save us $100 billion, why don't they do it now? For the love of God, doesn't this mean that they've been ripping us off?"

It seems to have escaped Senator McCain that the job of the drug companies isn't to save the federal government money, but to maximize profits for their shareholders. Reversing what he calls a rip-off would be exactly the sort of transfer from the private enterprise system to the government that he was earlier decrying.

by Editor  |  Aug 2, 2009 at 11:00 am Related Topics:  Auto Industry, Health Care, Stimulus receive the latest by email: subscribe to the free futureofcapitalism.com mailing list