Blocked

Last week the senate blocked legislation that would allow the government to negotiate Medicare drug prices. To me this is criminal. If you haven’t read what I had written on this issue or seen the 60 minutes piece on how the pharmaceutical industry basically paid off the politicians, please go and refresh yourself here:

http://placebojournal.blogspot.com/2007/04/mediscare-d.html

http://www.placebojournal.com/shopexd.asp?id=204

I am absolutely amazed how Republicans can talk about a free market economy and yet allow this to happen. Here is a quote from Senator Mitch McConnell, a Republican from Kentucky, “If it isn’t broke, why fix it?” Yes, we want to help the elderly but we also want to pay as little in taxes as we can. Wouldn’t lowering the burden of the Medicare D Prescription Plan do that?

Big Pharma wins again. There is no doubt in my mind that they have saturated the lawmakers with enough “donations” so that they couldn’t get the 60 senators needed to bring the bill up for a vote. This includes Democrats who talked a big game upon being elected but now are showing their greed as well. The truth about these payoffs will come out but until then we all, as taxpayers, will have to pay for it.