The Rise of the Pharmaceutical Monster

We grew up trusting doctors and believing in the value of pharmaceuticals. When we got sick or suffered injury, we went to the doctor. After a brief examination, he reached for the prescription pad. We went to the drug store, bought the medication, used it and get better. The doctor was often the most educated man a rural American town. And we went to him in time of crisis; --birth, serious illness, accidents, impending death. Pharmaceuticals allow many people to live a normal lives. Diabetics get their insulin. Around the world, due to the pharmaceutical industry major diseases have been wiped out. How could this system go wrong?

How did the system go wrong? I suppose it was because of the availability of money. Social security started up in 1935. Wages were good during the war years and thereafter. People on social security started retiring and drawing their regular monthly benefits. And those same people started living longer and needing more medical attention. The labor movement contributed health insurance. And then Medicare came along. So people with health care needs were also people who had money.
So the major unintended consequence was the creation of the pharmaceutical industry. Now it has become a case of the tail wagging the dog.
Pharmaceutical profits, $200 billion annually, are huge. They are more interested in maintaining their profitability than in the public health. profits. They have bribed congress and infiltrated the FDA so that regulations don’t protect Americans. The drug companies have also infiltrated national organizations designed to inform and protect the nation. This includes the American Medical Association, The American Heart Association, and the American Diabetes Association. The same people are also in collusion with the American Dairy Association and the meat industry.

Pharmaceuticals are a $200 billion industry
They don’t really spend that much on R &D, nor are they very innovative.
They are looking for blockbuster drugs and often all they
product are Me Too” drugs
They bribe and buy doctors