Wealthcare — The Red Herring Debate
No matter Who Wins, You Will Absolutely Lose
In 2014, Pfizer netted $22 billion in profits (Tax filings).
They paid $1.1 Billion in taxes, for what would appear to be a 5% effective tax rate (Tax filings).
Americans for Tax Fairness did a review for 2014, and placed their effective tax rate at 7.5%.
The average American citizen pays a 10.1% effective tax rate (U.S. Congress Joint Committee on Taxation)… a full 25% more than Pfizer.
As of 2014, Pfizer had $148 billion parked off-shore, with no tax burden whatsoever (Reuters).
In 2014, Pfizer spent $8.4 billion on Research and Development… and spent $14.1 billion on Sales and Marketing (Reuters).
Pfizer Executive compensation increased by 44% from 2015–2016 (Morningstar).
Pfizer spent $20 million on lobbying and donations in 2016. (Opensecrets).
Pfizer increased the price of 91 medications an average of 20% at the start of 2017 (Reuters).
All drug prices from all companies are expected to rise an average of 12% in 2017 (CBS News).
The people that cannot afford medical care are not the problem. The debate about whether or not the average citizen should be responsible to compensate for those who cannot afford it is a red herring.
The problem is the runaway costs, and complete lack of concern for the health of American citizens relative to corporate profits.
The GOP plan further restricts access to proper medical care, provides additional tax breaks for companies that are responsible, and awards those savings to the very people who profit most from creating and sustaining the problem in the first place.
So, GOP friends, please explain this to me. Pfizer can spend $8 billion on researching drugs, $14 billion on selling them, give their execs a 44% raise, give $20 million to PAC’s and politicians… but that is not the problem?
Poor people needing healthcare is apparently the problem.
My friend was in a horrific car accident that resulted in a traumatic brain injury. She has had 3 surgeries so far. During one hospital stay, she missed an insurance payment and was immediately dropped by her insurer. She now has over $150,000 in debt, cannot work, cannot drive, and said “I don’t think about the money, because I know I’ll never be able to pay it.”
She’s 27. And according to the GOP… she’s the problem, because the costs she cannot pay will be passed on to others.
But you know who doesn’t have to worry about it? Pfizer, because they’ll get paid. And the Insurer, because they dropped her. And Politicians, because they’ll still get their donations and have better care than she can ever afford. And the wealthy, because the money that will be saved by poor people dying will be given to them as a thank you.
I am frequently baffled by the decisions lawmakers can support, and more-so by the ill-conceived and thinly masked reasons they provide.
In this case, I am truly disgusted by what the GOP is doing, and by the people willing to support it… And if you’re not as outraged as I am, then you’re not paying attention.
And if you happen to be unlucky enough to truly need medical care you cannot afford, you’ll never stop paying for that either.