ibm, whoever we deem important gets the same breaks even if they're making stuff to kill people. i'd argue that many of the marketing dollars aren't so bad since they actually increase awareness of symptoms and get people to talk to doctors before it's something much more expensive. there's a certain degree of education of the clueless--take the ads for nexium explaining that what people often think is bad heartburn is actually going to rip a hole that is going to be a disabilitating bitch to fix. imitrex ads tell people that they might have migraines and if they do, they can get something that costs them workdays and suffering

. they're bidnesses, not charities.and they do their own research for the rest of the world to eventually benefit from. if they were charities like most people expect them to be, kiss advancement goodbye and watch med schools fill up with stiffs as mckinsey and wall street absorb the potentially best doctors and researchers. people need to budget getting sick at some point into their lives instead of taking vacations and having a reasonably new car, which many of the entitlement crowd don't get.many who should be able to pay end up writing hospitals iou's--next time you're in an understaffed emergency room in a desperate moment thank them.

the companies are just making money off what gets through, reporting to shareholders and trying to improve, which isn't free or priced how you think it should be.