Wall Street and its senior bankers have laid America down to sleep. They have done it in less than one generation. They lost their way and corrupted their role in our capitalist society, having used wealth to control and manipulate the political process, producing ever increasing, and even obscene, wealth.
For the purpose of this article, Wall Street refers to the agglomerated mess of brokerages and banks invigorated by Clinton’s passing of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act in 1999, repealing the 1933 Glass-Steagall Act, separating deposits from the speculation of the stock market casino. After which, Clinton doubled down with the Commodity Futures Modernization Act which lifted regulation on derivatives.
The incompetence and inexperience of a self-serving Democratic Administration inflicted a ‘coup de gras’ on America’s middle class. Clinton’s Presidency was a wretched turning point in U.S. History, but not because of ‘blue dress’ evidence. Wall Street, led by Goldman Sachs, further influenced government through alumni like Rubin, Summers and Greenspan, and seized the highest hill in human affairs — control over money and all of its processes, nationally and internationally. Wall Street vanquished the vast American Middle Class including small to medium sized businesses.
For years Wall Street had manipulated corporations through the process of taking them to the ‘public’ feeding trough for decades. Changes in regulations enabled new out-of-control windfalls of hundreds of billions, which in turn further fuelled abuse of the political system. Politicians have been clueless, and Wall Street has enjoyed the ride. Wall Street has abused the public purse, and has abused the taxpayer. It cares little which of two political parties is in power, and as long as it has control of the reigns firmly locked in the jaws of politicians, either in the White House or in Congress. Wall Street has not cared much which party held control. Everyone has been under its control and managed.
Encouraged by our illustrious media, which cannot help but fawn over wealth, senior bankers and so-called titans of industry have demonstrated a dearth of morals and principles. Morals and principles have become leisure activities best reserved for occasional mental exercise while trotting around a hobby farm in Connecticut, or sharing martinis on a Sunday afternoon in the Hamptons.
Life is easy when you have bought anyone who might activate a speed bump on your path of rampage. You don’t even need a ‘get-out-of-jail’ card, since your ‘protégé’ will never prosecute you or your friends of anything, ever. Pillage as you will. Until . . .
Summer of 2015 finds a well known name crashing the political parade, as a guy named Trump stomps to a podium and almost as if suffering from a very mild case of ’Tourette’ syndrome, blurts out claims and comments that, like him or hate him, everyone can’t get enough of. Trump is an unwelcomed political neophyte, an out of place usurper, and yet he continues to surprise, exploding in the polls, and practically all members of the media seem unable to understand or explain why. They think they know him, and yet they know nothing.
The adjectives wrestled from the bowels of the NYT or LA Times thesauruses have become as entertaining as Trump’s often politically incorrect belches, insulting everyone and anyone who reacts negatively to him or takes a jab at him. What a boor, we think, and yet he takes stands no one else has taken. Both Democrats and Republicans agonize over where he stands, and many Republicans accuse him of not being a conservative. As much as Democrats like to pretend otherwise, Trump has developed support across all racial lines through a vast swath of the middle class. Although many believe his most important stance relates to “a wall” along the Mexican border, I sense that the distinction which could well win him the Presidency concerns his relationship with Wall Street.
Trump’s history with the banks is, . . . well, to put it simply — he ate their lunch. His very ‘results oriented’ leadership built an empire that never went to Wall Street brokerages to lever the value of his assets in the public markets. Although many “public” individuals have higher valuations of personal wealth resulting from value of their ‘paper’, Trump’s wealth is principally comprised of hard assets.
Trump is also smart enough to understand the banking system, and the fact that too many Wall Streeters have accumulated massive wealth based on creating nothing. His plan to close a loop hole that allows hedge fund managers to pay lower taxes on what is termed ‘carried interest’, for example, does not mean he is all about raising people’s taxes, as some Democrats and Republicans pretend. It is about common sense.
I can’t help but enjoy reading comments such as this one from a Wall Street CEO, “I don’t know anyone who is a Donald Trump supporter. They are like this huge mystery group.” These geniuses hide in concrete and glass cocoons, occasionally observing the world sliding under their private jets with uninsightful self-righteousness. Trump may travel in his own plane, but he is not one of them. From the Republican offering, they prefer someone like Kasich, who spent years as a Wall Streeter at Lehman Bros. Brokers and bankers are not what I’d consider “business men.” Never have and never will. Paper shufflers and ruthless salesmen maybe, but not business men. Trump may be rightfully cited for occasional boorishness, but Trump is a business man. As he told Bloomberg, “The middle class is getting clobbered in this country. The middle class built this country, not the hedge fund guys.” He is absolutely right when he states, “These guys shift paper around and they get lucky.”
Trump is the only political candidate of either party who will not be owned. Most importantly, he will not be owned by Wall Street. Wall Street would prefer any other candidate of any stipe, red or blue, over Trump. He is the only applicant for the Oval Office who can state and mean, as he did recently, “The only people that have control of me are the people of the United States.”
Wall Street is afraid of Trump. The Street claims he is too unpredictable. That is not why it hates him. On the Street, “unpredictable” means “we don’t own him and can’t control him.” It is further proof that the likes of Obama and Clinton are and have always been ready, willing and able to be ‘bought’. Wall Street is throwing millions of dollars against Trump, hoping desperately someone, anyone, can unseat him from his throne atop the polls. Trump’s grasp on the middle class consciousness may be very difficult to unclasp.
Sanders, evidently another America hating Democrat, is flailing about angrily, attempting to stir socialist winds to fill his sails, navigating toward overwhelming and invasive government — because that is good for you, don’t you know. Trump, in contrast, proclaims enthusiastically that he knows the road toward self fulfillment. He raises a lantern on the road toward middle class success, while resonating positively on national security — Wall Street be damned. After years of leadership under a President who had accomplished nothing in his life, and negotiated nothing, when Trump stands and makes claims, “I will . . .,” it matters little what follows “I will.” People know he succeeded, and when he says he will succeed, they believe him.
Trump, with all his blemishes, may be the only thing standing between Wall Street and the complete economic destruction of America’s middle class.
A constituent of the vast baby boomer generation with a career which has been fortunate to know the ponderous corporate worlds, as well as the intimately pressurized, and invigorating entrepreneurial domains of high tech and venture capital, I have harvested my share of mistakes meandering through corridors of enterprise from Silicon Valley, to London and endless, colourful, sometimes praetorian points in between. The voyage has provided an abundance of fodder for a pen yielding to an inquisitive keyboard, a foraging mind, and a passionate spirit.
Whether political or business or social or economic or personal, is it not all political? It is a privilege to write, and an even greater privilege to be read by anyone, and sometimes with the wind at my back the writing may occasionally be legible. I do not write to invite scorn, nor to invite respect, but if I get really lucky the writing can stimulate thinking. I also write for the very selfish purpose of animating my own processes, and engaging the best of what life offers. Above all, whether biting fire or swatting shadows, I am grateful to be gifted the freedom to write and publish whatever flows down to the keyboard. To all those who enabled this freedom, and to all those standing guard to preserve it, I am indebted.
Outstanding
This symbiotic relationship between Wall Street and the beltway is a little more clear and the reason they hate Trump is much more clear. Keep them coming.
A strong middle class raises the prosperity of all. America following WWII, for 40 years, with it’s high employment, and highly productive consumer economy was what made the “American Dream” a true reality which made the US the jewel (and envy) among nations.
The greedy Wall Street establishment “elite class” of today are no better that the robber barons of the nineteenth century. Those moguls used their influence and power to keep the blue collar working class as low and poorly compensated as possible in order to keep their thumbs on their laborers. Yet, even then, their wealth was not as disproportionately obscene compared to that of the bloated globalist crony capitalists of today.
The wealthy privileged of today want to keep their strangle hold on the reigns of power to ensure that the working class will remain subservient. In the eighteenth century, these “elites” would have owned slaves in the old South, or indentured servants in the North. This has nothing to do with party affiliation, but only a narcissistic and malevolent pseudo-aristocracy, who would refuse to those they disdain the same rights and power that was secured for and belongs to all “The People.”
This could be used as a wedge against Clinton and Bush, both of whom are owned outright by Wall St.
Attacking Wall Street and success envy is the job of Occupy Wall Street. Objecting to crony capitalism, also called corporatism is the job of TEA Party. Donald Trump is not qualified to object to corporatism because he is one of the worst offenders, even bragging about it as late as the last debate.
Trump’s corporation is privately held, unlike Macy’s and other companies whose stocks are traded on financial markets.
While Macy’s and others put in their buddies on their Boards, Trump is in complete control of his corporation, no ”cronies,” at all.
Since no stocks are sold for Trump businesses the middle class is not being ripped off by Trump’s corporations.
But this might be too nuanced for you.
He is, after all, rich and that seems to be all that matters to you.
@Ditto:
Ah, yes, the greedy “robber barons.” Fixate on the wealth they amassed, and ignore the great things they did for the country. Without them, we would have never had electricity, or the telephone or railroads that crossed the nation that allowed for expansion and new opportunities for people to become wealthy or the assembly line or cars that average Americans could afford. Nor would we have bridges that still exist and are used every day or skyscrapers that line our skylines.
Nor would we have the libraries, the hospitals and the museums they built with their own money. Look up Andrew Mellon.
By the time the “robber barons” started amassing great wealth, both slavery and indentured servitude was gone.
I have never understood wealth “envy.” What actually creates wealth? Your mind that generates an idea that betters mankind? Your willingness to take risk and lose everything? Was Steve Jobs and is not Bill Gates also robber barons who massed great wealth because of their ideas? Why do we demonize those who use their minds and their fearlessness to create things that make our lives better and easier?
‘carried interest’
This mechanism is also used for us less wealthy to rollover our interest if you have a certificate of deposit at your bank, to rollover the interest in your IRA, 401k, or any retirement annuity fund. Take that away in a crackdown on hedge fund managers, it’ll also affect the rest of us by eliminating ‘carried interest’.
Are there CEOs and managers who earn ‘obscene’ salaries and benefits? Probably, but who decides what’s fair? Obama is trying to put this restriction into place. Trump is talking about it a lot, but so is Sanders and every other Dem.
I got news for you, David.
WE do pay tax on ‘carried interest,’ on our IRAs, our 401Ks our retirement annuities IF we have an income large enough to put us in a taxable situation.
Thing is, most of us are NOT in a taxable situation.
There are tax-deferred things that we can use before retirement THEN, if our income is high enough, we pay taxes on the interest as we use it.
BUT what hedge fund managers are doing is making huge amounts of cash via carried interest, but paying NO tax on that income as they roll it over into new investments day-to-day.
If Trump were to change that structure they would have to pay taxes on all their income per year, even carried interest unless they tie their interest up in long-term investments like people preparing for retirements do.
Remember, you can choose to open a taxable retirement account or a tax deferred account.
You can do both (and there are some decent reasons for doing both).
But hedge fund managers are all getting a tax break on carried interest even as they re-invest in one thing after another as day traders.
@Skookum: The reason you hate trump is NOT clear, even if you think it is…
What is it? do you really have to like a competent person? what if you like an incompetent person? what is it about him you actually dont like and does it actually have any meaning towards the leftist popularity club form of state?
besides… a dead middle class has been the STATED GOAL since the 1850s
so why be upset you get what you want? a two class system of wealthy haves, and poor have nots, and no middle class… or did you not actually read what the goals of socialism are?
I apologize, i misread one word in your post… and that changes everything…
but my point still stands for others who have NOT payed attentio to the goals of what they support..
@Skookum: #1
Thanks Skook. While we’ve known for a century or more that money has always influenced political life, the size and nature of the current financial influence is overwhelming.
Hundreds of billions are being made by the senior bankers, and through control of the pols, as well as control over The Fed, their gravy train is unstoppable by any of the pols now in office. Even guys like Cruz, as much as I like him, or Rubio, have no clue. The tell-tale was their support of the Obama Pacific international trade deal insanity. They just voted “ideologically” without any common sense.
For no other reason needed, Trump presents a possible fork on this road to destruction.
And, . . . . I’ll work on it. 🙂
@Ditto: A strong middle class raises the prosperity of all. America following WWII, for 40 years, with it’s high employment, and highly productive consumer economy was what made the “American Dream” a true reality which made the US the jewel (and envy) among nations.
Bela Kun
Marx and the Middle Classes
Pravda May 4, 1918
“The internal enemy” of the proletarian Russian Revolution is constituted first and foremost by the lower middle classes. The expropriation of the expropriators being carried out at present does not represent the most serious obstacle in the path of proletarian dictatorship. In the path of the expropriation of capital the obstacles are of a purely objective nature. The small group of large capitalists has not the masses on its side, and therefore speedily becomes powerless in face of the armed proletariat. The lower middle classes of society, on the other hand, represent a considerable section of the population, especially in Russia — to say nothing of the propertied section of the peasantry. To reckon with the wishes of these lower middle classes would mean the halting half-way of the work of the Revolution: it would mean an end of the aspirations towards the destruction of capitalism.
so if a leftist socialist is crowing about the dying of the middle class and the fact the gap is getting bigger, tell them that this is something for them to celebrate. if not, then they are on the wrong side… ie. they dont know what the goals and outcomes of what they fight for are supposed to do to society.
“The Poverty of Philosophy,” from the economic aspect, and “The Communist Manifesto,” from the political aspect herald the final liberation of Socialism from the last lower middle-class swaddling clothes.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
The lower middle-class is not fit to wield power, and a long government by it is unthinkable. This, first and foremost, for economic reasons: the small shopkeeper is the debtor of the great capitalist, and must remain in dependence on him as long as there exists the system of credit — which cannot be destroyed while the domination of private property continues.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
The roots of the dilemma created by Imperialism are to be found in the economic relations on which Imperialism is based. There are only two classes capable of governing: the class of great capitalists, and the proletariat.
Every compromise with the upper bourgeoisie is treachery to the proletarian revolution. Every compromise with the lower middle-class after the victory of the revolution would mean the restoration of the supremacy of the upper bourgeoisie — the restoration of capitalist rule.
only when the middle class is impoverished to the point of being poor, will they be proletariat and willing to sovietize and be communists for they have nothing to lose. but the middle class has things to lose, and so will shrink and prevent a dictatorship, so the goal MUST be to destroy them. either pull them up, which cant happen as they cant rule, or to drop them down, removing the middle.
now… ask your local socialist, and see if they agree… if they dont, then they dont know what they are supporting… if they complain about that gap between rich and poor, they are ignorant… if they think that socialism will make a better middle class, they are also ignorant…
its the great joke on the fools…
from the same document
Within the framework of capitalist society, the lower middle-class is immortal. Not only do small traders and small producers, worshippers of the principle of private property and credit, inevitably ensure the existence of parasites on the social organism, as being causes of the dissipation and waste of social labour; but also from out of their midst there appear the bearers of a special philosophy, directed for the purpose of restraining the proletarian revolution.
“The lower middle-class,” in Marx’s words, “has no special class interests. Its liberation does not entail a break with the system of private property. Being unfitted for an independent part in the class struggle, it considers every decisive class struggle a blow at the community. The conditions of his own personal freedom, which do not entail a departure from the system of private property, are, in the eyes of the member of the lower middle-class, those under which the whole of society can be saved.”
And this is the very reason why the lower middle-class masses are the most dangerous enemies of the dictatorship of the proletariat. They represent a very strong section of society. Their special interests are absolutely incompatible with the economic disturbances which are the inevitable accompaniment of transitional periods.
when all hope is removed, then change can happen
the point of hope and change…
@Ditto: #2
Ditto, the biggest problem we face is exactly that — the loss of morals and principles that has decayed the minds of too many in very powerful positions, particularly in places such as New York and California.
In other places, the totally corrupt Chicago political machines have simply been useful vehicles to gain the absolute control of the Oval Office.
Control of the large corporations was done and done. Control of The Fed was done and done. Control of the Oval Office, done and done.
What next? . . . . An offshore international structure ruling over the American economy, as well as other economies. Bloody brilliant.
And by the way, did anyone notice who Eric Holder is now making millions from?
@DrJohn: #3
DrJohn, it’s a wedge that only Trump, IMHO, can very effectively ram into position.
No one else has his financial or corporate track record to make it stick. For example, I quite like Fiorina who comes from business, but she was not an entrepreneur. She was an employee, although a massively successful one. She was also, from my perspective, on the wrong side of the Wall Street equation. Wall Street TOLD HER what to do. Not the other way around.
Nobody has control over Trump. Hell, he even has a working relationship with the Mob in New York . . . . that’s the only way his buildings got built. This guy is more talented that many give him credit for.
He is in many ways a throwback in some of his verbal crap, but he delivers.
BTW, while Clinton pretends to be a leader of WOMEN, and FOR women, Trump actually has women in senior executive positions working for him. Clinton is simply a socialist airhead.
@Marla Hughes: #4
There is no doubt that one can pluck incidents and actions in Trump’s historical past which might smell. However, my point here is that Trump is the only one that Wall Street fears — for good reason.
Bankers and brokers never controlled him. They own Obama. They own Clinton. They control the road to the White House. Suddenly someone steps onto the road and says, “Oh no you don’t”.
I only hope he actually uses the power that people are prepared to invest in him, turning back the encroachment that Wall Street has made on all our lives.
I don’t think Wall Street fears Donald Trump because of his specific approaches to particular problems. He hasn’t actually stated any. They fear him because he could turn into a bull in the china shop. The guy is a flaming egotist. He may actually believe his own b.s. He could turn foreign and domestic affairs into a roller coaster ride that might shake volatile financial markets apart. That’s what scares them.
@Nanny #8 –
I know that.
This is where the flat tax/fair tax proposals make sense. Take away all of the deductions and deferrals – personal, business, corporate – to where everyone is paying … including the hedge fund manager and the welfare queen.
@Greg:
you make me laugh greg in that you hate honesty, and are very judgmental of those that dont spend anytime pretending to be what you want them to be instead of being thmeselves. then you come up with a shaming term, a fav of the left, so that in some way youc an sound superior by implying that they are X and your not, but they are also very successful in honest ways, and the dirty ones are the ones you love, and fawn over.
completly hysterically funny
i would ask you, why buy a 30,000 dollar watch
and your such an egoist you think its to show off to you, an inconsequential person
what i have learned from them and dating some, and havng some for friends over the ages, is that they buy the 30,000 dollar watch cause in 20 years, they return it for their money back and some profit, while you silly boy, buy things that go Down in value the moment you walk out of the store.
you have no idea
you know the cost of everything and the value of nothing
and you want the world to work in a way that you deem it should which would then favor you, while they succeed in a world that favors no one really, and they adapted to.
and what do you want of them mr inconsequential?
you want them to pretend to be humble and that they would deserve your applause if they pretend for you that… ha!
way to funny tovarish…
your quite ignorant of a world you never attended to
Ha!
would you like him better if he tried to fool you with false image? of course you would, you cant appreciate honesty cause to you honesty is kissing your opionons, and not being what you are without regard for the opinions of inconsequential otehrs…
ha ha ha… way funny…
@Artfldgr, #19:
Anyone spending $30,000 on a wrist watch has as a serious problem with their priorities, in my humble opinion. Whether or not a person can afford to engage in such extravagance without giving the matter a second isn’t really the issue.
What sort of arrangement do we have where increasing numbers of people can spend $30,000 on a wrist watch as if they were dropping a quarter into a gumball machine, but two parents working full time can’t always afford adequate food, shelter, and clothing for their families? Is it possible that things might be a bit skewed in favor of the very wealthy? Is anyone who asks such a question a communist?
Where do you think Donald Trump fits into this picture?
The fact that you categorize some people as inconsequential reveals much. Money, power, and celebrity are ultimately things of little consequences. They don’t determine the worth of a human being.
@James Raider:
This illustrates how far the GOP Establishment has distanced itself from America beyond the Beltway. Losing track of 60% of your base is remarkable (roughly based on Trump’s poll numbers of 30% and Republicans being 50% of the electorate).
Being literally “Out if touch” with its base will hopefully portend the demise of the GOP Establishment; however, the Chamber of Commerce is a surprise entity for me. Are you familiar with its composition and its relationship to Wall Street?
@Artfldgr: I am not sure of either your intent or motive, but perhaps this will explain my mission.
@Skookum: #21
Good question, Skook, . . . . sorry but I have never supported any Chamber of Commerce, either in the U.S. or in Canada, nor in Europe for that matter where I’ve had past business ventures, so my familiarity with it and its worldwide network of over 100 affiliates has always been as an outsider. I don’t hold an ‘intimate’ awareness.
I know that “Wall Street” and America’s major corporations keep ‘Chamber’ coffers full and use them when there are specific self-serving policies which need influential ‘energy’ nationally or at the local level. It might be related to GMOs or it might be related to communications networks or trading, etc. . . . whatever needs political influence, there’s a Chamber available for action.
Many small or mid-sized companies find some usefulness to joining and donating because they are “sold” on networking or rubbing shoulders with other business leaders. That’s a ruse. All Chambers IMHO are simply well financed lobbying cabals. I can’t stand unions, and just because Chambers of Commerce were originally established to ‘counter’ union influence, doesn’t make them worthy in my view.
I despise Lobbying and always have. Such organizations tromping through the political system is disgusting. Doesn’t matter which side of the political divide lobbyists sit on, I have always felt strongly that they should not be allowed to exist.
Chambers of Commerce, as you know, exist at local, state and national levels, principally for the purpose of ‘lobbying‘. Throughout my career I was often invited to join, whether in California, New York, Toronto, etc and they always used the excuse that “we need to counter the union influence on such and such politician,” or some other similar rationale. That didn’t work for me.
Unions should never be allowed influence into the political sphere, ever, nor should other organizations such as Chambers. My attitude was always, “leave me alone to run my businesses and get the hell out of my way. I’ll use my personal vote or voice to influence government, but I will not use my business to do so.” That’s why I am so pissed at guys like Goldman Sachs who now control the largest pools of cash ever amassed, to BUY politicians, BUY lobbyists, BUY the White House. They’re the biggest cash horde, so they have the most influence. That sucks. Large Corporations evidently can still make use of Chamber lobbying, while today we find that the Senior Wall Street bankers have so beautifully finessed themselves into control positions in Washington, that the Chambers of Commerce hold less interest for them. Screwed up? No? We’re in the twilight zone.
These guys and the guys they bought should be in jail. Instead, a clown like Eric Holder is now back in Chicago collecting his multi million dollar due from Goldman and friends.
To fix Wall streets grip on the rigged Casino. One thing only is needed. Limit futures contracts that allow Jaime and his Degenerates to manipulate Anything they want, whether it be oil,
Gold, or currencies. Oh I forgot, they own the lackeys at the CFTC, and good old Mary Jo White at the SEC. Who said a policeWoman could not do the job, Your parents must be
So proud.
Special shutout to ex CFTC alum, Bart Chilton. Check out who he works for NOW!
Go Trump. Go Anyone that cannot be bought. It cannot get any more corrupt. We have nothing to lose.
@Vincent Mosomillo: #24
The state of America, its 64 million unemployed and the average income of those who are, having actually dropped over the past two decades, a disastrous Pacific trade agreement just around the corner, etc., . . . that’s about the feeling of most taxpayers. Doesn’t speak well for the political class.
@James Raider:
Spot on! Most of our political class are nothing more than bagmen.
As Michael Corleone once said to a senator from Nevada. forgive me I may paraphrasing,
Senator, we are both part of the same hypocrisy.
Should we focus the blame on Wall Street? Or is our entire system rotting, owing to greed and the empowerment conferred onto those who already control enormous heaps of cash? Consider the following story, dated September 20, 2015:
How do you prevent the capitalist system from being perverted and turned into a shakedown scheme without killing capitalism itself? It’s an important question, because the shakedown scheme seems to be a rapidly growing trend. The people who stand to reap enormous profits from seizing control of a drug’s production are, in fact, creating absolutely nothing of value. What they’re creating is the moral equivalent of robbery at gunpoint.
A system that forces Corporate America every quarter will never work in the best interests of the populace. Drug approvals are rushed with no upside to the consumer. We always find out how bad drugs are 5-10 years after millions have taken them . We are the final trials in real time when a drug is released. Stop Big Pharma . Watch who takes the Most money for the election from the Pharma and let’s grill them hard. Follow the Money
Capitalism gone wild. Should this not be regulated? Is there no drug to treat the disorder that this man has?
My Lunch With Shkreli: What We Should Learn From Pharma’s Latest Monster
@Greg: Doctor Kevorkian comes to mind
@Vincent Mosomillo: Trump right on– on this topic—Hedge Fund managers should be taxed and terminated with extreme prejudice.
@rich wheeler: Amen. And STOP High Freqeuncy Robbery, I mean trading. Discusting, Right Virtu!
@Greg: Your article was from Sept 21st 2015.
The day YOU posted it this was put into media via press release:
http://www.cnbc.com/2015/09/22/drug-ceo-will-lower-price-of-daraprim-after-hike-sparked-outrage.html
I guess if you have AIDS or HIV and also keep cats maybe it would be wise to follow the advice doctors give pregnant women: don’t change the cat box!
Daraprim fights toxoplasmosis which is found in cat urine/poo.