John McCain on Tuesday promised a clampdown on corporate malpractice if elected president and vowed to give shareholders a veto over executive pay.The Republican presidential candidate said government had become beholden to big business and too forgiving of corporate abuses."For too long, government has been the voice of big business," he told a small-business conference in Washington. "Even when very large businesses violate their trust, they seem to be held to a different standard - getting away with conduct that would leave any small-business owner broke."
The Republican presidential candidate said government had become beholden to big business and too forgiving of corporate abuses.
"For too long, government has been the voice of big business," he told a small-business conference in Washington. "Even when very large businesses violate their trust, they seem to be held to a different standard - getting away with conduct that would leave any small-business owner broke."
Oh, really? "Dieu se rit des hommes qui se plaignent des conséquences alors qu'ils en chérissent les causes" Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet
New York Times: The Republican Debate in New Hampshire (January 5, 2008)
SEN. MCCAIN: -- have sued -- have sued the pharmaceutical companies because of overcharging of millions of dollars of Medicaid costs to their patients. How should that -- how could that happen? How could pharmaceutical companies be able to cover up the cost to the point where nobody knows? Why shouldn't we be able to reimport drugs from Canada? It's because of the power of the pharmaceutical companies. And we should have people -- pharmaceutical companies competing to take care of our Medicare and Medicaid patients. MR. : Okay, don't leave me. MR. ROMNEY: Don't turn the pharmaceutical companies into the big bad guys. I -- SEN. MCCAIN: Well, they are. MR. ROMNEY: No, actually they're trying to create products to make us well and make us better, and they're doing the work of the free market. And are there excesses? I'm sure there are, and we should go after excesses. But they're an important industry to this country. But let me note something else, and that is, the market will work. And the reason health care isn't working like a market right now is you have 47 million people that are saying, "I'm not going to play. I'm just going to get free care paid for by everybody else." That doesn't work. Number two, the buyer doesn't have information about what the cost or quality is of different choices they could have. If you take the government out of it to a much greater extent you'd get it to work like a market and we'll rein in costs.
MR. : Okay, don't leave me.
MR. ROMNEY: Don't turn the pharmaceutical companies into the big bad guys. I -- SEN. MCCAIN: Well, they are.
SEN. MCCAIN: Well, they are.
MR. ROMNEY: No, actually they're trying to create products to make us well and make us better, and they're doing the work of the free market. And are there excesses? I'm sure there are, and we should go after excesses. But they're an important industry to this country.
But let me note something else, and that is, the market will work. And the reason health care isn't working like a market right now is you have 47 million people that are saying, "I'm not going to play. I'm just going to get free care paid for by everybody else." That doesn't work.
Number two, the buyer doesn't have information about what the cost or quality is of different choices they could have. If you take the government out of it to a much greater extent you'd get it to work like a market and we'll rein in costs.
