It is not always fun to be an agitator – in fact, it often seems to be an exercise in futility. A good example of this is the case of the disappearing prescription drug legislation that the Congress has been considering. A week or so ago, we were told that it was just a matter of deciding which version would pass – the Republican or the Democratic version. Oh yes, the Republican measure would cost less, give fewer benefits and would be anaged by insurance companies, while the Democratic version would cost more, provide better coverage and be attached to Medicare.
The prevailing mood in Washington state seems to favor the Democratic version – at least that’s the message that Sen. Cantwell and Rep. Rick Larsen have gotten, and by quite a margin. And yet, in Washington, D.C. it got stalled. Was it in the legislative sessions, or in the hallways? Something happened somewhere, because it petered out in the Senate (where were you, Demos?). This is hard to understand until you begin to look at the events of the past few weeks (or months), i.e., the collapse of peoples’ 401(k) plans and tremendous losses of jobs as a result of a lot of corporate “book cooking” and funny number crunching by crooked bean counters.
This reminds me of rule number eight of someone’s “Unnatural Laws,” “The Golden Rule – Whoever has the gold makes the rules.” Seems the pharmaceutical industry (which spends about $2 on advertising for every $3 on research) has it made when there is no legislation to give prescription drug relief to the elderly. Just who is in charge here, anyway? Aren’t our elected officials supposed to be responsible (and responsive) to all the people?
In light of all the shenanigans that are being exposed, maybe there is a need for a lot more agitators breathing down on our congressional folks to make certain that common folks get a fair shake. While the Democratic version is preferable (and cheaper in the long run), even the insipid Republican version is better than nothing at all. Let’s stop the gravy train for the greedy old parasites!
Everett
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