[quote]Lies, Damned Lies And Rice
Harley Sorensen, Special to SF Gate
Monday, February 14, 2005
The lies never stop. They lie not only to you and me, but also to their friends and colleagues, Republicans as well as Democrats.
I speak (as you might guess) of those masters of deceit in the Bush administration. A few months ago they told our senators and representatives that their bogus Medicare prescription drug bill would cost $400 billion over the next 10 years. Now that the bill has become law, they've revised their estimate: Now it's $724 billion.
Two questions: Why is the difference in estimates important, and why do I call the drug bill "bogus"?
The bill barely squeaked through Congress. The biggest objection to it was its cost. In the end, it passed only because it was deemed, at $400 billion, affordable. Had its cost been higher, it almost certainly would have failed.
What is bogus about the law? Three things: It prohibits the importation of drugs from Canada and other countries; it prohibits the government from negotiating with drug companies for lower prices; and it provides benefits for everyone, regardless of income or financial status. Do the heirs of Sam Walton really need our help buying their prescription drugs?
That drug law should be repealed immediately. It's not an effort to help seniors at all. In fact, it's nothing more than a scam designed to enrich pharmaceutical companies. Sen. John McCain, the one Republican who acts like a Republican, calls it "outrageous." He's right.
By the way, almost immediately after the drug benefit bill became law, the price of prescription drugs went up. These people have no shame.
In vaguely related news, the Queen of Chutzpah, our lovely secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, has just completed a whirlwind tour of the known world in which she tried to convince everyone she met to fear and loathe the nation of Iran.
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