BETWEEN THE DEVIL AND THE DEEP BLUE LIES.

America, a country that, as least superficially, adores its democracy more than any other developed country, has more gullible people per square mile than any other country I can think of. Any country that can not only produce, but elevate to heights of high public esteem. the likes of Glen Beck, Ann Coulter, Rush Limbaugh, and Sarah Palin has to be caught between the devil and something-or-other. The sad reality is that millions of them do not seem capable of discriminating between fact and propaganda, between hype and common sense. (Many Canadian fall into the same description of utter mindlessness.)

I “Look Ahead. That’s what the blog is called. It is also an expression of my optimism that in fact, people are not so stupid, that most people will catch on sooner or later. Unfortunately, “later” means that the worst has already happened.

Watching TV, as is my vice for cool, cloudy afternoons, lets me muse on what I see in the commercials. We all know that the pharmaceutical companies scream bloody murder when anyone tries to tamper with their pricing. They always cite the enormous cost of research and development and the failure of most drugs even to reach the market.

Why then do they spend millions advertising their products? TV ads for prescription drugs must run into hundreds of millions of dollars. In fact, it has been said that drug companies spend far more on advertising than they do on R&D.

Even worse perhaps, because America is in the throes of trying to cut health care costs, is the amount of money spent by medical institutions advertising their product. This afternoon I saw that for real help in coping with cancer you need the special services of some caring hospital chain specializing in cancer treatment. I simply do not understand how, in an economy that is trying to cut health costs, hospitals and many doctors, can pass on the cost of all that advertising to their patients, who already spend more than double the amount per capita of the next closest country on health care!

I know, I know. Market economy. Supply and demand. But we are dealing with people’s lives for heaven’s sakes! Who is so gullible as to accept that advertising of medical services and pharmaceutical enhances health care?? Gimme a break.