Is Walgreens Trying To Leave The U.S.?

[unhappycamper]

http://smirkingchimp.com/thread/dave-johnson/56879/is-walgreens-trying-to-leave-the-u-s

Is Walgreens Trying To Leave The U.S.?
Corporate America | Taxes
by Dave Johnson | July 12, 2014 - 11:23am

~snip~

But wait, there’s even more. Not being a U.S. company does not mean they won’t still be getting money from and bribing influencing the U.S. government! Robert Reich points out, in “Walgreens shouldn’t have a say about how the U.S. government does anything,” that the “Swiss” company should not be lobbying the U.S. government.

By treaty, the U.S. government can’t (and shouldn’t) discriminate against foreign corporations offering as good if not better deals than American companies offer. So if [the Walgreen Company] as a Swiss company continues to fill Medicaid and Medicare payments as well as, say, CVS, it’s likely that Walgreen will continue to earn almost a quarter of its $72 billion annual revenues directly from the U.S. government.

… In 2010 it lobbied for and got a special provision in the Dodd-Frank Act, limiting the fees banks are allowed to charge merchants for credit-card transactions — resulting in a huge saving for Walgreen. If it becomes a Swiss citizen, the days of special provisions should be over.

… Since the 2010 election cycle, Walgreen’s Political Action Committee has spent $991,030 on federal elections. If it becomes a Swiss corporation, it shouldn’t be able to spend a penny more.

[MuseRider]

1. We pulled all our prescriptions out

and moved them to CVS. Sadly that means another 10 minutes added to our drive into town when we need refills but oh well. My husband wrote a letter and an email to corporate headquarters telling them how we felt about this move.

Don't know what we will do if CVS does the same. It is 30 minutes to the next town over, we could move them there I suppose but when your insurance company or Medicare will not let you get more than 30 days of your prescriptions that poses a potential problem during the winter.

Ahh corporate loopholes and personhood and the greed of the already super wealthy few.

[Demeter]

3. Have you investigated mail order?

I have read ads for them, and they seem to be able to ship 3 months at a time...don't have any experience with this, though.

[pscot]

5. I've been getting mail order refills for years

There's an occasional glitch, but in general it works well. It's a great convenience.

[MuseRider]

6. We do get some things that way now

but some of our prescriptions can't be handled that way. I am narcoleptic and have to take brand name Ritalin. No way to get that other than by being present. I used to get a 3 months supply but not any more and I have to call days in advance to even see if they have the brand name, if they do I have to head down there to be sure I can get my month filled. It is a real pain but at least I can still get it.

Mail order works well for other things though. It is my insurance that will not allow more than a one month refill. Thanks.

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

2. Which treaty is that?

That would seem to preclude the US gov't from participating in any real 'buy American' campaigns. Is it a WTO issue, or something separate?

[Demeter]

4. US Spreme Court's Citizens United allowed even foreign corporations more rights than US People.

Last edited Mon Jul 14, 2014, 06:30 PM - Edit history (1)

More useful legislation on money in politics needed.