Addiction and debt slavery: the real growth industries of the USA

Addiction and debt slavery are prime examples.




So many people are making fortunes off of the opioid CRISIS, that it is a real growth industry.


Opioid overdoses accounted for more than 42,000 deaths in 2016, more than any previous year on record. An estimated 40% of opioid overdose deaths involved a prescription opioid.

https://www.hhs.gov/opioids/about-the-epidemic/index.html





And the same holds for the student loan debt CRISIS, which is only getting worse.


The next generation of graduates will include more borrowers who will probably never be able to pay off their debt. Student loan debt in 2019 is the highest ever.

The latest student loan debt statistics for 2019 show how serious the student loan debt crisis has become for borrowers across all demographics and age groups. There are more than 44 million borrowers who collectively owe $1.5 trillion in student loan debt in the U.S. alone.


Student loan debt is now the second highest consumer debt category - behind only mortgage debt - and higher than both credit cards and auto loans. Borrowers in the Class of 2017, on average, owe $28,650, according to the Institute for College Access and Success.


https://www.forbes.com/sites/zackfriedman/2019/02/25/student-loan-debt-statistics-2019/#327aba50133f







Joe Biden Backed Bills To Make It Harder For Americans To Reduce Their Student Debt.

https://www.ibtimes.com/joe-biden-backed-bills-make-it-harder-americans-reduce-their-student-debt-2094664






The industry's political generosity increased in the years leading up to Congress' passage in 2003 of a Medicare prescription drug benefit. Since then, industry spending levels have fluctuated, though they have usually hovered around the $30 million range, including during the 2014 cycle when that number was nearly $32 million. 2012 was the cycle when the industry contributed the most -- over $50.7 million. The pharmaceutical industry has traditionally supported Republican candidates, with the 2008 and 2010 cycles serving as the only exceptions. During the 2014 cycle, Republicans received 58 percent of industry contributions whereas Democrats received only 42 percent.

The top contributors during the 2014 cycle were Pfizer Inc. (over $1.5 million), Amgen Inc. (above $1.3 million) and McKesson Corp. (more than $1.1 million).

The industry's policy goals include resisting government-run health care, ensuring a quicker approval process for drugs and products entering the market and strengthening intellectual property protections.

In terms of lobbying, key players in 2014 included the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (over $16.6 million), Amgen Inc(nearly $8.6 million), Pfizer Inc (nearly $8.5 million), the Biotechnology Industry Organization (almost $8.3 million) and Eli Lilly & Co (around $8.2 million). Lobbying efforts focus on the patent system, research funding and Medicare. While lobbying totals were fairly high at over $229.1 million in 2014, the industry hit a record in spending nearly 272.8 million on lobbying activities 2009 -- around the time when the Affordable Care Act was being debated in Congress.

One piece of legislation the industry has lobbied heavily on recently is the 21st Century Cures Act. The bill, which passed the House, would encourage the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) to rely less on randomized controlled trials when deciding whether or not to put a new drug on the market. Critics argue that this would all but guarantee that more drugs will hit pharmacy shelves at a faster pace, though potentially at the expense of patient safety.




https://www.opensecrets.org/industries/background.php?cycle=2018&ind=H04