My right-wing relatives and their email loop are pissed about the cost

[Ilsa]

of drugs. They are circulating the cost of meds versus the cost of raw materials and production, and then mentioning how COSTCO sells only for a small markup over their cost. Thsi was my reply:

Dear friends,

Well, this is what our current Congress wants, and what our current president signed, whether it is individuals paying for it or the govt. through the new prescription plans. They didn’t even bother to require negotiation for lower bulk prices. There is a huge govt subsidy for Big Pharma. It is a HUGE ripoff of the taxpayer. Furthermore, they said the cost would only be $400 million, but Congressional leaders had already received the budget estimate that it would be closer to $550 million. So they jerked us around about it and lied about how much it would cost.

And then they outlawed going out of the country (Canada) to get your meds, saying they may not be safe. Yeah, as if people in Canada are dropping dead over scandalously poor formulation of medications. Another scare tactic.

I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’ve had enough of this poor, self-serving leadership.

[BlueStateGirl]

1. Great response. You should have mentioned how Costco is a true blue

company, run by a liberal. <gasp>

[Patchuli]

2. Good job!

Awakening America's kool-aid drinkers a little at a time, whatever it takes! Once it hits the pocketbook for most folks, it gets serious!

[Ilsa]

3. Most of these people are elderly and conservative and

religious. I can approach them, but I have to be careful not to smack them upside the head with too much of my anger.

One addy is my late mom's sis and her husband, and I have to be extra respectful to them.

[Patchuli]

5. I'm thankful for the influence of

my late mother...she was a fire-breathing Dem! She HATED W! She lived in West Palm Beach in 2000 and was FURIOUS about the election theft.

A friend of mine that I met at church whispers to me how some of our Christian congregation is very very sorry they voted for W but it was all about the abortion issue. I said and now it's hurting the very people who supported this stinker. We must win back majority in November...

[Ilsa]

7. They managed to make everything else pale in comparison

to this one issue. And Bush really doesn't give a shit about it either. It is only a tool for him to use politically.

[C_U_L8R]

4. Their vote is the only thing that cost them money

Maybe they'll make an educated decision next time.

I have no sympathy for republicans who get
exactly what they voted for (and deserve)

[Ilsa]

6. Me neither. They are all getting plenty of SSI and pensions and

don't give a shit that the rest of us are going to have to pay for everything, including their drugs.

But I try to be polite about it. :)

[lostnfound]

8. Plus, some drugs at major US pharmacies are FAKE anyway

Hearing that people can't buy from Canada for safety reasons is absurd after seeing the 60 minutes report on drywall-and-highway-paint pills being sold at major pharmacies like CVS, sold through surplus dealers originally manufactured by counterfeit operations in China or Mexico, with little or no active ingredients.

As far as the new prescription plans, it's my understanding that the law now specifically PROHIBITS the government from negotiationg for lower bulk prices.