freecounterpoint: Why change a wonderful thing?

Wednesday, July 01, 2009

Why change a wonderful thing?

I see nothing but systemic perfection, says Tecs

17 comments:

Tecumseh said...: Yeah, right. The propaganda organ of the Pinko Left dutifully seeks out sob stories in order to push the Party Line, which is, complete state control of anything and everything that moves or breathes in this land. Marx or bust, in other words. Who's gonna pay for all this, though? Me and Joe Schmoe, of course.; 7/01/2009 11:33 AM
The Darkroom said...: tec - you pride yourself for being objective but any story that deviates from the rwn dogma you dismiss as a "sob story" ?
you are right that it is expensive, but that is a separate issue. and it's expensive here too.

There are also some strange questions regarding pharmaceutical companies that bring up issues of dumping: the arthritis medicine (made by Merck, in the USA) I take costs $150 here without insurance ($70 is my copay). It was Euros 5.10 in 2005 in France (where I do not have insurance so before social security re-imbursement). Methinks the US consumer is paying for sales abroad. But I don't know if such discrepancies (many of which I've noticed over the years, both relating to medicine and medical tests/bloodwork) cannot be explained another way.; 7/01/2009 11:59 AM
Mr roT said...: Let's imitate this wonderful thing.; 7/01/2009 12:29 PM
Mr roT said...: Pepe, have you tried getting your arthritis medicine at Wal-Mart? My bp stuff is 100 bucks outside and 4 buck inside WalM or Sam's.; 7/01/2009 12:31 PM
The Darkroom said...: WalMart doesn't need my money: I have never spent a penny there and hopefully never will. and I don't think it would go from $70 to $7 or so.; 7/01/2009 12:35 PM
The Darkroom said...: didn't read your entire post. wow. down to $4. incredible.; 7/01/2009 12:35 PM
Mr roT said...: You really ought to check them out.

I don't know if they give quotes but many maintenance drugs are $4/month at Wal-Mart and Sam's.

Here in Houston, the pharmacies at Wal-Mart are full of poor folks that you just know have no insurance, and even with my insurance (top-tier Blue Cross), Wal is cheaper than going to CVS with my card.

Amazing.; 7/01/2009 12:40 PM
Mr roT said...: What do you take? I'll call them here for you. It's just stupid not to buy from them if they have what you need.

Problem is that some drugs don't have cheap generic equivalents...; 7/01/2009 12:46 PM
Mr roT said...: Now you're even ideologically allied.; 7/01/2009 1:19 PM
My Frontier Thesis said...: In this health care regard: what's also cool is that when you go to a doctor and they are incapable of diagnosing your problem (let alone fixing it), they still charge you (up the fucking arse, usually). But if we take our autos to mechanics and they are incapable of diagnosing and fixing your problem, they don't charge you. Interesting, isn't it?; 7/01/2009 3:28 PM
The Darkroom said...: >> What do you take? I'll call them here for you.

ketoprofene; 7/01/2009 4:57 PM
Tecumseh said...: MFT: I once took a perfectly good Toyota Corolla to a garage and they messed it up completely, while charging me though the nose. Another time, they forgot to put the cap after an oil change (!?) and the whole motor got soaked in oil. Mr Rot is right: what country do you live in?

As for drugs: I simply don't take any, unless I'm in big pain or something. Then I just go to CVS, pay my copay, and that's it. What the hell is Pepe talking about? He must be living in another country, too.; 7/01/2009 6:39 PM
Mr roT said...: Compare naproxen, 500 mg tabs.; 7/01/2009 6:58 PM
My Frontier Thesis said...: I prefer the shade tree mechanic I know on a face-to-face basis. Today I took my regular pick up to a small time but real good muffler guy (he works at his pace on custom hot rods, too), and together we inspected the muffler just before and after the catalytic converter where it rusted through. I asked if I should replace the converter as well, and he pointed to what he was going to do and said, "Naw, we'll salvage that, and I'll swap out the rusted pipe with new stuff and it'll only run about $60-70 for parts and labor instead of $175-$200."

Are you guys going to the corporate big time mechanics? Have you found a good mechanic as well? Doesn't sound like it. It does take time just like it takes time to find a good butcher. Whether a big juggernaut government bureaucracy or a big juggernaut corporation, there's always a greater tendency for the individual customer to get crushed in the anti-Adam Smith. So, yeah, perhaps North Dakota (and Montana), is a different part of the county, even more so because of paleontology and geology and contemporary international oil prices.; 7/01/2009 7:22 PM
Tecumseh said...: Good prices you found there, Mr Rot. I didn't know there can be such a price variation. I've only bought such stuff from the corner CVS for the past few decades. Looks like I've been losing money. Why didn't you tell me before?

As for mechanics: those that messed up my trusty Corolla were either from a local Shell gas station, or from a shady place in a bad part of town. After those experiences, I only go to a dealership. They rip me off, of course, but at least they don't totally mess up my car.; 7/01/2009 7:48 PM
Mr roT said...: Tecs, I find that to get my maintenance drugs, it is cheaper to take a taxi to Wal-Mart and pay cash than take my Blue Cross card to CVS or Walgreen's.; 7/01/2009 10:15 PM
My Frontier Thesis said...: Sage advice, Tecs and Rot, both on east coast auto repair, and the patriotically bulky Walmart pharmacy.; 7/02/2009 1:14 AM