OxyContin Maker Sackler Family Sued by 500 Cities, Shunned by Tate Galleries

[BobMcWan]

20. Forgive me for injecting ideology here..

but I wrote the following letter to the editor a while back and, well, it never got printed. I knew it was a long shot but I had to take it. Thanks for the opportunity to share:

Now that Bernie Sanders has announced his run for president, we can expect even more
observations and proclamations about socialism from our current president, i.e. "socialism = Venezuela."
I would like to offer my own simplification comparing capitalism with socialism. Sorry to
say it won't fit on bumper sticker, but, here goes: "socialism = Jonas Salk, and capitalism =
the Sackler family."
Jonas Salk, as many of us know, was instrumental in the development of the polio vaccine that
has made that disease something we learn about in history books and from older friends or relatives.
He is also remembered for never patenting the vaccine because he wanted to see his work benefit as
many lives as possible.
The Sackler family is perhaps less well known, but their legacy continues to ravage our nation, and
the world. The Sacklers own Purdue Pharma. Purdue Pharma is the company that developed Oxycontin.
I will avoid simplification and note that not all opioid deaths are directly related to Oxycontin,
but the fact is since 1999 approximately 200,000 Americans have perished in an epidemic triggered
by a patented drug.
Jonas Salk did not die a poor man, but by his actions he did forfeit millions.
The Sackler family is on the Forbes 500 list with a net worth of $13 billion.
There is more to life than making as much money as possible; that is what socialism means to me.