This has nothing to do with drugs or protecting the American public or American drug companies - although your leaders certainly would like people to see it that way.
This is about money, plain and simple.
America is broke. America has been broke, very broke, nearly broke and flat broke for a very long time now. Debt is spiraling out of control and deficits, of mind-numbing proportions, continue to be run - year after year. The American Government simply can't bring in enough revenue to pay its expenses with the current taxation-based revenue stream. The ongoing political roadblock (the solving of which makes peace in the middle east look easy) guarantees that the status quo will be maintained - so no solution to the problem is forthcoming and the government is now turning to alternative sources of revenue.
Which leads to this shakedown of various businesses through settlements or fines. Not unlike the concepts of Righthaven (or various other shakedown artists many of which are featured in posts on this site) the government is going after low hanging fruit that, it hopes, will roll over and pay rather than fight.
This is about money - the government needs it, the companies have it, it can't be obtained through taxation so - lawsuits and fines all around!
This really isn't that complicated
This has nothing to do with drugs or protecting the American public or American drug companies - although your leaders certainly would like people to see it that way.
This is about money, plain and simple.
America is broke. America has been broke, very broke, nearly broke and flat broke for a very long time now. Debt is spiraling out of control and deficits, of mind-numbing proportions, continue to be run - year after year. The American Government simply can't bring in enough revenue to pay its expenses with the current taxation-based revenue stream. The ongoing political roadblock (the solving of which makes peace in the middle east look easy) guarantees that the status quo will be maintained - so no solution to the problem is forthcoming and the government is now turning to alternative sources of revenue.
Which leads to this shakedown of various businesses through settlements or fines. Not unlike the concepts of Righthaven (or various other shakedown artists many of which are featured in posts on this site) the government is going after low hanging fruit that, it hopes, will roll over and pay rather than fight.
This is about money - the government needs it, the companies have it, it can't be obtained through taxation so - lawsuits and fines all around!