No, Mr. Trump. Greed is Not Good. It is a Form of Evil.

by Nomad

A Swiss news story about an illegal profiteering scheme underscores the reality behind Donald Trump's often recited principle about the glories of greed. 

Greed and Moral Decay of the American Voter

The presumptive nominee for the Republican party in this year's presidential election really wants you to know something.
Trump is greedy.. times three.

"My whole life I’ve been greedy, greedy, greedy. I’ve grabbed all the money I could get. I’m so greedy. But now I want to be greedy for the United States. I want to grab all that money. I’m going to be greedy for the United States."

Trump's philosophy is that greed is a good thing. In fact, it is such a good thing that he wants the entire nation to surrender to it. If the Bible says:

For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.

Trump's advice?
Ignore it. That idea is for losers.
And if the Christian doctrine says:

But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.

Mister, you'd better wise up.
The New Age of Trumpism is nearly upon us. And for a limited time only, you have a chance to get in on the ground floor!

The very nature of greed- mainly its insatiable self-centeredness- tends to cast doubt on the idea that Trump will ever charitable focus his greedy nature for the sake of the country.

It really makes no sense.
Logically, greedy people are not greedy if they want to share their wealth, their skills or any of their material blessings. Still there are a lot of suckers and chumps out there ready to take that leap of faith and vote for Trump. He's given them enough warning but they want ever so much to believe.

Why GOP Complaints about Pharma Price-Gouging of Vets is a Hypocritical Smokescreen

by Nomad

One Republican complaints against a drugmaker's price-gouging may be applaudable. As long as you have only half of the facts. 

In yet another example of mainstream media failing to properly inform the public, we can point to CNN and its posting of US Rep. Jeff Miller's op-ed piece. The article demonstrates how, when critical information is left out of a story, the news becomes nothing less than a lie.

The subject of Miller's piece is price-gouging by pharma companies, particularly when it comes to medication for veterans. The company in question, Gilead Sciences, has been scrutinized on several occasions in this blog. (here, here and here)

In his article, the Congressman for Florida's First district writes:

If not for the service and sacrifice of those who have worn the uniform, the United States would not be the extraordinary place it is today. Unfortunately, this concept seems lost on the people at drugmaker Gilead Sciences.

Whenever we try to qualify patients by who "deserves" life-saving treatments more, we run into ethical questions. It is all in keeping with Republican efforts to be percieved as actually caring about veterans.
The record tells a different story. In fact, the GOP has a fairly dismal record when it comes to veterans. Last year, the House Appropriations removed more than $1.4 billion from President Obama’s proposed 2016 budget. As one source notes:

As a result of the cuts, it was estimated that 70,000 fewer veterans would be able to receive needed care.

Bloomberg: Price Gouging Pharma CEO Shrekli Arrested on Securities Fraud Charges

by Nomad

It was really only a matter of time before Martin Shrekli's wings were clipped. And nobody's crying for him.

From the "it couldn't happen to a nicer guy" files...

This year, Turing Pharmaceuticals AG, CEO Martin Shkreli outraged the public sensibilities by raising the price of a HIV treatment drug from $13.50 to $750. 

Shrekli initially scoffed at the firestorm against the decision. He took to Twitter and other social media to essentially give the middle finger to anybody that criticized him.
When the controversy grew louder, he vowed to lower the price. However, it was later reported that he had failed to do so. His critics- which ended up being most of the nation-claimed that Shrekli had never had any intention of lower pricing at all but it was just a ploy to quell the growing public anger at both his greed and arrogance.

It soon became part of the political debate. A spokesman for Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders returned campaign donations from the CEO saying they could not accept to money “from this poster boy for drug company greed.”
Donald Trump - of all people- called Shrekli a "spoiled brat."

How Three Asian Nations are Beating Outrageous Price-Gouging by American Pharmas

by Nomad

Some have started to question the exorbitant prices pharmaceutical companies charge the public. In Asia, we may be seeing a push back against what some see as price-gouging of the most desperate and vulnerable segment of the world's population: The sick and the poor.

In the recent past, Nomadic Politics examined, in two posts, alleged price-gouging for one company's drug for Hepatitis C. There are further developments to that story. First, let's re-cap.

The Breakthrough

The story begins with some very good news. It was reported last year that one orally-administered drug,  Sovaldi (sofosbuvir), has proved to be a breakthrough for the treatment of a silent killer virus, hepatitis C.  

From the clinical trial reports, researchers claimed that Sovaldi was not a life-long treatment but a genuine cure for the deadly disease itself. The therapy required a 12-week therapy but at the end, most of the patients would be free of the disease.  

Then came the bad news: Gilead Sciences, the patent-owner and developer of the drug, was definitely not a charity organization. It was a profit-making company which, according to Wikipedia, earned US $12.059 billion in 2014. 

It was immediately clear to everybody that the Hep C cure was not going to be given away free. Few, however, were expecting the price the company settled on. Sovaldi costs $1,000 a day, adding up to staggering $84,000 for a 12-week supply. 

The problem is obvious: at that price, a cure is out of reach of most patients in the world and even in rich countries.