Balance Lawsuit Limits With Limits on Profit

Re “White House Rolls Out Its Economic Message,” Dec. 16: Is this what Bush/Cheney mean when they talk about “frivolous lawsuits” and limiting damages?

Merck, makers of Vioxx, is now facing something like $18 billion in future litigation as evidence has poured in linking the drug to thousands of heart attacks and indicated the company suppressed data for several years in order not to lose revenue.

When corporate lies cause people to die, is it frivolous to seek remuneration from these companies that hide urgent information from the public?

It was only after a British study that it was revealed that U.S. drug makers had not released data about the dangers of antidepressants and teenage suicides.

Recent reports indicate great problems with the class of drugs known as statins, linked to kidney and liver failure.

What is really frivolous is that this government allows drug companies to show television commercials that portray happy patients who use these drugs dancing through fields of daisies, while hiding the truth about the realities of pain, hardship and even death that they can bring.

Kenny Feuerman

Beverly Hills

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President Bush is demanding congressional action to limit lawsuits. Let’s let Congress know that we the people will tolerate limiting the supposed greed of those harmed by corporations only when we have legislation that equally limits the windfall profits of corporations.

Corporations secure excessive profit by cutting corners in product and worker safety and environmental protection. With Bush appointing corporate lobbyists to head the regulatory agencies, citizens have only lawsuits and boycotts left to defend against greed-driven, unethical corporate activity.

When we citizens make it clear that corporations will get their tort reform only packaged with a hefty windfall-profit tax, this threat to a balance of citizen and corporate power will evaporate.

Bob Wetzel

Murphys, Calif.