The Spectacle Blog
Tim Carney sniffs around Congressional lobbying and notices a strange brew. A pharmaceutical company realized that it could make a lot of money if it could extend their patent. So:
Rather than forgo half a billion dollars, MDCO did
what any company in its position would do -- it started lobbying
Congress to change the law. MDCO, however, assembled an unusually
impressive lineup of lobbyists. The company hired at least eight
lobbying firms and retained the biggest names available. ...With
this team, it's no wonder MDCO shelled out $4.6 million on lobbying
last year, much more than either the National Rifle Association or
Wal-Mart.
Ted Kennedy inserted the language into an upcoming bill, and it's
just passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee. The
Congressional Budget Office also estimated that this would increase
government spending on health care by $19 million from 2011 to
2018.
Tim, I'm happy that you get material for your column, but it's disconcerting to find that such topics as these exist.
Leave a comment
Leave a Comment
Related Blog Posts
More Blog Posts by J.P. Freire
http://spectator.org/blog/2008/02/29/competition-really-cuts-into-p
Follow us:
ADVERTISEMENT
Current Issue
- Handicap the Handicapper
- Tenured and Powerless
- Media Trackers Hits Wisconsin
SPONSORED LINKS
Special Feature
Better that we become a nation of choosers rather than beggars. Our symposium on choice from the May, 2012 issue:
FLASHBACK TO: 1984
-
The Fairness Delusion
The speech our President should make.
-
Media Smears: One Man’s Experiences
A noted economist fires back.
-
Chuck Colson vs. The Fundamentalists
How political can you get?
-
The Reagan Doctrine
You might have missed it, but it was boomed in January.
-
The Woman Problem
Farcical feminism is a decades-old phenomenon, as George Will's essay from 1970 reminds us.
Clip of the Day
ADVERTISEMENT
