ABC with Diane Sawyer!!

“O’Really…Really?”
“ABC Tonight: How to present a one sided story”
By
Russ Jackson

Today I only have a brief point to make. I usually do not watch ABC, or any other major network for news anymore, but ABC with Diane Sawyer just happened to be on while I was cooking. Here is the link to the story I happened to catch http://abcnews.go.com/WN/cost-brand-drugs-soars-hurting-elderly-americans-fixed/story?id=11478210.
In this story, ABC says that 217 brand name prescription drugs have risen over 41.5% in the last five years. It also claims that the consumer price index (wtf is that? Does the average American know what that is, or just take for granted that if the news says it is not growing, then it has made a point) has increased by roughly 13% over the same period of time. To be fair, here is a story about consumer price index, and you can look it up http://abcnews.go.com/Business/story?id=89190&page=1.
Here is my point, ABC is trying to paint the brand name drug companies as evil money grubbing entities. And you know what, they may be right about that. However, to present just these facts (which I will not dispute), is just praying on the average Americans intelligence, or lack of intelligence.
Now, if ABC really wanted to make a strong point that these name brand prescription drug companies were jacking up prices just to screw us all, they should have linked the PROFIT MARGINS of these companies over the same time period. Any person with a little bit of financial knowledge would understand that if the PROFIT MARGINS (post taxes) of said money grubbing drug companies had also sky rocketed in the same five years, that yes…these are nothing but evil drug companies trying to screw the American public. In other words, increased prices on certain drugs does not mean that the drug company is making more money. Maybe the raw material cost went up, maybe there are more taxes imposed on drug companies now and the increased prices are made to MAINTAIN PROFIT MARGINS. But, we will never know based on this little ABC story now will we. Why? Because the truth is not what ABC is really reporting. ABC just wants to make the public hate the evil money grubbing drug companies.
If I had the time, I would do the research myself on the profit margins, but I am not getting paid big bucks to write a story and be a journalist. Its too bad to, I am pretty sure I would have included relevant information, like how much money ( % profit post taxes) the drug companies are actually making due to these cost increases.
Also, I am not a fan of the drug companies. I am sure they use every tactic they can to make money (that is called capitalism by the way). And, if their profit margins rose in comparison to their increased prices without any other factors involved, then I would agree that they were sticking it to a section of the American public that really can not afford it. But, that is not my point here. My point here is that this was a one sided hack job story done by ABC that really has no proof that the drug companies are “evil money grubbing companies”, which is obviously the point Diane Sawyer was trying to make.

Russ Jackson
8/25/2010

New Jobs Bill!

“O’Really…Really?”
By
Russ Jackson

I have to tip my hat off to the Democrats. The recently passed jobs bill ( http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/08/10/house.funding.bill/index.html?hpt=T2 ) in the House of Representatives is a political masterpiece. The Republicans have challenged the Democrats on excess Government spending (skyrocketing deficit and continued uncontrolled government spending). The Republicans have challenged the Democrats on frivolous spending (the stimulus bill that has not touched the unemployment number so far). So, what do the Democrats do? They develop a “jobs bill” consisting of $26 billion aimed at bailing out the States and saving over a hundred thousand jobs. You can see more details of the bill on the Speaker’s website: http://www.speaker.gov/newsroom/legislation?id=0403. These are not just regular bureaucratic meaningless jobs, but Teachers, Policemen, and Firefighters. So, the Democrats get a big check for actually passing meaningful legislation.
The Democrats also get a big check for making the Jobs Bill deficit neutral. Here is the kicker here: this bill is paid in part by closing a corporate tax loophole that allowed corporations to receive Government funds (your money and mine) to pay for foreign taxes. In other words, corporations were given an additional incentive to place manufacturing and other businesses outside the United States. Since I have been a victim of manufacturing going oversees, I can not find any reason to oppose the closing of this loophole. I think you would be hard pressed to find any working class American to oppose the closing of this loophole. The rest of the monies come from cuts to other pieces of the budget, as well as from the stimulus bill.
How many Republicans voted for this Bill in the House? 2. Now, I disagree with the Democrats on many, many things. Spending and bailouts are two of them. I have lately found myself agreeing with the Republican “Just say No” campaign over the past several months. But I find myself scratching my head on this one. By voting No to this Jobs Bill (which makes a good deal of sense at least to me), the Republicans have actually painted themselves as the party of “No”, instead of the party of “No to senseless spending and increased Federal Government”, which is the party I think they should be. I know that the Republicans believe that their base is most likely with them on this issue, but I am not sure that your average American is. It is one thing to say “No” to ridiculous legislation (Health Care Reform), and another thing to say “No” to everything. By saying “No” to the jobs bill, the Republicans have lived up to what the Democrats have been saying now for months, that the Republican Parties agenda is to make Barrack Obama a failure.
So, again, hats off to the Democrats on this one. In one fell swoop, I think they have put themselves back on the map for the midterm elections with this one piece of legislation. Not only did they help out their base (Teachers unions), they made the Republicans look silly by voting “No” to the best piece of legislation floated in Washington in the past 2 years.

Russ Jackson
8/10/2010