From TPM, Wonder why these guys got booted out?
With blunt pragmatism, Sen. John Sununu came to Concord last week and told economic development leaders not to waste time worrying about the cost of health care.
“This may be the most bizarre recommendation, but I am sincere,” Sununu said. “I’m not saying it’s not an issue or it’s not important, but proportionally speaking, stop complaining about health care.”
Sununu said business leaders would be better off putting their energy elsewhere. For starters, “if there was something that we could do about it that were quick or easy, it would be done,” he said, predicting only marginal policy changes. “There is no solution” anytime soon, he said.
He cited the “opportunity cost” of business types squandering time debating health care issues instead of working on issues they could control.
If there’s a glimmer of hope, it will come from open markets, said Sununu, who broke with the White House in 2003 to vote against the Medicare prescription drug bill because it restricted price competition.
Health care “is so darn expensive,” he said, “because it’s worth it.”
Am I laughing or choking on my own bile? Even I don’t know anymore. Writers for the Onion, hang your heads in shame: John Sununu is your daddy.
“Proportionally speaking”? “Opportunity cost”? Health care takes up 16% of our GDP (as of 2004), and we don’t even have universal coverage; compare that to 10.9 in Switzerland, 10.7 percent in Germany, 9.7 percent in Canada and 9.5 percent in France. Everyone from automaking behemoths to municipalities are being held hostage by this one segment of our economy. Health care grows, everything else contracts.
Gosh Senator, I’d say proportionally speaking this was a pretty big deal.
I hope this can be treated as a warm and fuzzy “teachable moment”, as well as a “kick me” sign on the GOP that the Dems will avail themselves of. And I hope and expect the line will be long to replace the feckless (i.e. he has absolutely no fecking clue) Mr. Sununu in 2008.
You can’t make this stuff up.
substituted with word “iraq”,
and you’d pretty much have the GOP congress in a nutshell.
teachable moment? shaking head slowly from side to side, lowering forehead into hand.
<
p>
are these guys still in power?
IIRC, Sununu barely beat Shaheen in 2002, thanks to a phone jam. Since then, tUSA and NH in particular have become far more Democratic.
<
p>
Mr. Sununu may be looking for a new job in January 2009. Without free complete health care, he may change his tune then.
And I really hope that Shaheen is planning to take him on again in 08. This is one of the clips that should be archived for the race. I’m sure it would not be hard to find a treasure trove of foot-in-mouth diseased moments.
I suppose Sununu is right that there are no easy solutions.
<
p>
Do we elect Senators to only do the easy things?
why the heck does that need saying? seems like you’re bending over backwards on the fairness thing. what did you have for beakfast this morning that’s making you such a softie?! đŸ™‚
<
p>
most public policy issues do not have “easy solutions” but they do have solutions. (and in fairness đŸ™‚ to charley, he does insinuate that). Folks, with this health care issue, I implore you to always “follow the money trail” and to identify “who wins and who loses” under a proposed reform. You’ll benefit from keeping those 2 themes in the forefront when thinking about the health care issue.
<
p>
There’s probably no other public policy issue that has so much money at stake–for both the insurance industry corporate interests (and others in the medical-industrial complex) and for us jane and john does, as well as the many businesses that are staggering under rising health care costs, and the towns, cities, municipalities, etc.
<
p>
Maybe some of you would like to join in a bit of street theater next week to call attention to the sky-high and ever rising costs of health insurance. An action is taking place Wed Dec 13 from 11-12 at the Mass. Association of Health Plans at 40 Court St in Boston. Many organizations and individuals are taking part; visit the Alliance website and scroll down the homepage to Advocacy Events for details and a link to the Flyer!
Do they have big biotech companies up there too? Just found out what I am paying for with my $400 a month: drug research! Yay, it’s so they can give billions to drug companies, which can spend it how ever they want to, maybe even on stem cell genetic research.
<
p>
I can’t find the article that was on yesterday’s front page on the globe site. I can find the headline, but the article is gone.
Just how much of its own money does PhRMA spend on research?
Just how much of its own money does PhRMA spend on marketing?
<
p>
I suspect those numbers would disappoint you.
Direct to consumer advertising: $3 billion
R&D: $30 billion
type of marketing cost, dear gary.
<
p>
A large number of research articles by a variety of different authors delve into this topic and conclude that more money is spent on marketing than on R&D by big Pharma.
<
p>
the American Medical Student Association is a leading force in the nation taking action to address, and to correct, this public health and fiscal problem. Click the link for some data on the topic.
<
p>
and the World Health Organization has penned a worthy editorial: Promoting Science or Sales? Drug industry marketing staff soars while research staffing… Study on research and development costs questioned …
You’ve hit the nail on the head. Direct to Consumer Advertising is one component of marketing. R&D is about 10X the DTC Budget. Total marketing, is, depending on whose
propagandastudies you read, anywhere from 80% to 90% the size of R&D.<
p>
But I’m not sure what the right number ought to be.
<
p>
Marketing includes package design (both safety and efficacy), healthcare provider education and awareness, samples, direct to consumer advertising. It includes the cost of the drug reps too.
<
p>
I agree that marketing is a big cost. But I’m not comfortable saying it’s too big, nor do I see how universal health will reduce the marketing expenditures.
or the R&D paid for by PhRMA?
Not online, but quote from print, Robert L. Pollock:
<
p>