You answered for me and I couldn't have said it any better.

 

I will completely agree with you on this point. The pharmaceutical companies do over charge, my mother is on an experimental drug for pulmonary hypertension and they told her that after the clinical trial is over they estimate the drug will cost 5,000 a month, the drug is working wonders for her so she will have to pay it. She is also on Viagra for pulmonary hypertension, she takes 2 a day and I don't know if any of you have priced that drug lately but they are outrageous, luckily the generic is about to be allowed to come out.

 

The rules are already changing in that respect. The Doctors are having to follow new guidelines here.

 

Part of the reason the pharmaceutical companies charge so much to the US citizens, is due to the other countries involved in their sales. R&D costs are huge, in developing new drugs. A lot of countries limit the cost that these companies are allowed to charge (Canada is among those countries). If they aren't able to charge these R&D costs along to all their customers, then they have to charge them to the customers they can - US citizens.

It's unfair, to say the least. Just something to think about.

 

I understand that but 5,000 a month for 30 pills is rediculous, they don't have to recoup the cost in a few months they could spread it out over a year or so.

 

Healthcare costs arent the problem, they are the result of the problem.

The problem is the inflationary monetary policies of the government over the last 40 years. The cost of everything has skyrocketed. It costs 6-7 bucks at a fast food restaurant for a decent combo meal now.

The dollar has lost 34% of it's value just since 2000. And the government keeps printing...

 

I think it is more like, The Dollar has lost it's power more so, because of the cost of energy. Percentage wise in has been the most inflamatory factor in our industrial base for the last 35 years. That percentage would also take into account for the extra money the EPA has cost us.
Our country is sailing itself down the river by not exploiting it's own resources. That fact has also lowered the number of jobs available, and is ruining the base of our greatness.
The monetary system itself is only as important as the man holding the dollars.

 

In a round about way you're right. Think of it this way. Every dollar the gov't spends in the economy is highly inflationary if money has to be printed or borrowed to pay for the spending. So when Obama, Congress, or any other president wants to spend, spend, spend, once that money is spent, (gets to the end user which is a gov't employee or program) it devalues the dollar even further.

This is why you see a few honest economists outside the gov't up in arms about all of the deficit spending and borrowing going on right now. Our own gov't is printing money to buy treasuries to finance debt. It's one of the biggest scams ever on the American public. The gov't is in essence counterfeiting money.