Stimulus: a new antibiotic

Over the last few years this country has been eating nothing but junk food.  Now it feels really bad.  Depressed, lethargic, unable to move, and an overall unhealthiness has made it lose track of life.

The country, like all people that are feeling ill for a reason that they think they cannot explain, have gone to see the doctor for a diagnosis.  This doctor, who is already overrun with patients, has no time to really figure out what is wrong with the patient.  There is no time for lengthy questions, only simple ones.

"So you are feeling run down?" The doctor asks the patient.

"Oh gosh yeah doc.  I feel like I can barley move in the morning and I am so depressed because of it." The patient responds.

"Did this come on all of a sudden?" The doctor asks after writing on the patients care sheet.

"Well I guess you could say that... " The patient responds.

"Well I think you might have a case of the flu.  I will prescribe some antibiotics just in case it gets worse.  You should feel better in a few weeks.  Just take a few pills and rest, the medication will do the rest." The doctors says handing the patient his prescription as he walks out of the exam room.

The patient is feeling a little better just by seeing the doctor.  He feels a renewed zeal with this prescription that he thinks will make everything better.  Once I get this prescription filled and get some rest I am gonna be as good as new.



The pharmacist hands the patient his prescription for the antibiotics and wishes him a speedy recovery.  The patient heads home, takes 2 of the pills and lays in bed and soon falls asleep.  As he sleeps he dreams of feeling better and how thanks to these pills he is on the right track.

When he wakes up he is feeling a little better so he goes down stairs and eats what he has been eating for breakfast for the past 2 years.  Six brownies, 2 cupcakes and a large glass of cold whole milk.

Over the next few weeks it seems like the medicine isn't working any more. But the patient saw a qualified doctor! The doctor prescribed him a powerful antibiotic that would kill anything that would be making him ill.  Why isn't he feeling any better, he wonders.

The patient decides to go back to the pharmacy and make sure that he was given enough of the medicine.  When he gets to the pharmacy he asks the pharmacist if he can get a more powerful antibiotic.  The nice pharmacist tells the patient that he will have to go back to the doctor and get his prescription rewritten for a stronger dose.

Elated that the end is in sight and that soon even more powerful drugs will help him he rushes to the doctors office.

"Doctor I really need a stronger dose, I am really feeling lousy." The patient says gasping for breath after running to the doctors office.

The doctor looks the patient over very quickly and makes a few notes on the patients sheet.

"Well." Says the doctor. "I agree.  I will up the dosage.  Take this new prescription to the pharmacy immediately, have it filled, and then get home and get some rest."

The patient rushes out of the doctors office, barley saying goodbye to the doctor, and heads straight for the pharmacy.

The pharmacist gladly fills the prescription and starts the process of billing the patients insurance company for the pills.  Since the beginning the patience insurance has covered all of the expenses for his illness.  But this time there is a problem.

"I am so sorry but I will have to charge you for the pills sir." The pharmacist tells the patient.

"Sure no problem I will pay whatever the cost.  These pills are gonna make me feel a lot better.  There are a lot more and they are much stronger." The patient responds, quickly reaching for his wallet.

"Ok, great" The pharmacist says as he totals the bill. "That will be $37,000.00"

The patient stands very still and stares at the pharmacist.

"Excuse me? Did you just say $37,000.00?" The patient asks holding his wallet, which is feeling a lot lighter all of a sudden.

"Yes sir.  The old pills were much smaller and there were fewer of them so they only cost $5,000.00" The pharmacist says with a smile.

"Hmm." The patient sounds as he thinks this through.

After a long pause the patient tells the pharmacist that he doesn't want the pills.

"But sir you need them to feel better, the doctor said so." The pharmacist says with conviction.

"No" Replies the patient. "The doctor doesn't really know what is ailing me.  He prescribed them to me cause he thought I might need them in case this flu I had got worse.  But now that I think about it  I don't have the flu.  I have just been treating my body like a play ground and living to excess.  Taking those pills was like throwing good medicine down the drain."

The patient, after realizing that more expensive pills are not the answer, does the hard thing and takes his time getting himself back on track.  It takes a long time to learn how to eat right, get enough sleep, and keep a good attitude.  The mornings were the worst and he thought he would never make it during the toughest times during his recovery.

After living in excess and not taking care of himself the patient put himself, by himself, back to a good and healthy way.  He realized that pills were not the answer and if he had continued to take the pills he it would have take a lot longer for him to recover.  Not only would he almost never have realized his mistake but he would be more than broke.  It would take many many years to pay off the prescription bills.  He might never have lived long enough to pay them.

No he had thought that day.  I needed to put myself in the right and no pill was gonna make me better.  I was treating myself poorly and feeling the affects.   It was my job to fix it or I would have died.  The doctor and pharmacist were trying to help but in the end I still would have died, just more slowly and drowned out in my misery.  Or worse yet I would have lived a long time and never known what mistakes I was making.

In the end the patient realized his mistake and corrected himself.  If he had not he would have been a goner.  He would have died because he wasn't living right.  Some thought they had the quick easy fix but that would have only prolonged the inevitable and left him walking down the  same path for even longer if not forever.

If the patient had past away because of how he lived, many would have mourned, some would have shaken their heads in disbelief, while others would have learned what not to do.  Over the next few years the ones who remembered would not take the same path and thrive, others would follow in his footsteps and make the same mistakes.  They too would perish while the others that remembered would thrive even in the bad times.

Our county is not the patient.  Capitalism is the patient.  Stimulus is the antibiotic.  Some capitalists will dye because of the way they lived while others are still going or healing themselves with tough decisions.  They are making the changes that are needed to fix themselves.  Giving any of them these pills will only make them continue to live in excess.  Giving our country these pills will only due the same.

Our capitalist back is not strong and it is that back that this country was founded on.  Government was not created to hand out the wrong prescription or even to look at our chart.   We as a country should take a long look before we sign off  on any bills for the wrong pills.

If the cost of the pills to you were that high wouldn't you take that long look?  Did you know that if as a tax payer you were to pay your share of the bill for the new antibiotic your personal total would be $37,000.00?  Can we stop and think this one over... Just for a moment.