Bob woke up one morning, and he wasn't feeling particularly well. He wasn't sure if he getting sick or not, so he went to his doctor. The doctor checked him out and prescribed Megacillin, the hot new drug from MegaCo. Once Bob started, Doc said, he'd have to stay on it his whole life, but that was good, because Megacillin cured everything.
Bump
Bob asked, "what will this stuff do for me?" Doc said "it will cure all your ills." Bob asked, "but am I sick?" Doc said "maybe you are, maybe you aren't, but this stuff's great, and it's sure to take care of you."
Bob was a little skeptical, but he trusted Doc. Off he went to his neighborhood pharmacy to fill his Megacillin prescription. When he got there, he found out Megacillin was incredibly expensive, the most expensive pill in the inventory. He asked the pharmacist, "why does this stuff cost so much." The pharmacist replied, "it's new, it's still under patent, and nobody's sure if it will work, but if it does, it's really great stuff."
Bob was a little concerned, given that he wasn't even sure if he was sick, and the new drug might not work at all. But he trusted his Doc, and he turned over the script to the pharmacist. He spent the next hour wandering through the pharmacy, waiting for the script to be filled. During his perambulations, he happened upon the magazine stand. There he saw Newspeak Magazine, with Megacillin on the cover. "Miracle Cure or Miracle Profits?" was the headline. He thumbed through it, and read the different experts opinions on the value of Megacillin. Some thought it would revolutionize medicine. Some others thought it would cost patients money, distracting them from real medical care by offering an untested cure-all. But Bob trusted Doc, and forced to choose between different experts he didn't know, he would stick with Doc all the way.
"Bob, your prescription's ready." Bob heard his name being called over the pharmacy P.A. He was a little nervous, and not sure how he would pay his credit card bill for the Megacillin charges, but he trusted Doc, and off he went. Bob handed over his VistaCard with trembling hands, got his pills, and drove home.
Two weeks later, not really feeling better or worse, he went back to Doc for a follow-up. While he was sitting in the waiting room he struck up a conversation with a pleasant looking woman in a business suit and carrying a big sample case. "MegaCorp" was on the side of the case. "Hey, do you work for MegaCorp" Bob asked? "I sure do," she said. "That Megacillin's supposed to be great stuff," Bob said, "I'm taking it myself." "You are," she said? "That's wonderful, we sure wish you the best. Doc's been one of our best prescribers." "Why do you think that is," Bob asked? "Oh, I don't know," the lady said, "but he's been a loyal MegaCorp doctor ever since we put him through medical school and paid to set up his practice."
Bob gulped and reached spasmodically for his pocket. He turned pale. The Megacillin wasn't going to cure what he was feeling now.
George W. Bush's twelve biggest individual campaign contributors:
- Morgan Stanley $600,480
- Merrill Lynch $580,004
- PriceWaterhouseCoopers $510,500
- UBS Americas $467,075
- Goldman Sachs $386,600
- MBNA Corp $354,350
- Credit Suisse First Boston $332,040
- Lehman Brothers $327,325
- Citigroup Inc $317,525
- Bear Stearns $308,150
- Ernst & Young $300,640
- Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu $289,450
What's your prescription for Social Security?