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Hightower Lowdown
"The corporations don't have to lobby the government anymore. They are the government."
December's Lowdown
Corporate elites and their small-minded political servants are creating the Incredibly Shrinking America
"We the people of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America." What a paragraph! This sparse, 52-word opening of our Constitution did not merely launch a fledgling nation--but a bold experiment in democratic idealism.
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In This Issue
The buying of the government 2004 (Part 1)
Bush II brought to you by...
Also in this issue:
- Growing up with your chip
- Merck execs' bailout loot
- One economic factor rising
- Hot peppers and 4-year tacos
- Your right to sue threatened
- Name that school!
- Growing up with your chip
- Merck execs' bailout loot
- One economic factor rising
- Hot peppers and 4-year tacos
- Your right to sue threatened
- Name that school!
Do Something!
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Merck execs' bailout loot
When drugmaker Merck recently withdrew its best-selling drug Vioxx (because it can cause heart attacks) company executives took their time disclosing this little problem to regulators, doctors, or patients, and now the company faces federal investigations and thousands of lawsuits.
Merck's stock price has plummeted by 40 percent, on top of a 30 percent slide caused by a lack of new products, all of which makes it a likely target for a takeover by another drug giant.
But Merck executives are quick on their feet when protecting their own personal interests. Their exec retirement plan says that if another company takes over Merck—or even just 20 percent of it—the top 230 executives can bail out with a golden parachute of three times their annual salaries, plus their expected bonuses, as well as stock payments. For example, CEO Raymond Gilmartin, who helped engineer this sweet deal, would get about $57 million to soften his landing.