Saturday, January 1, we were flying from NYC and I was reading the NYT on the plane. And I could not help but contrasting the two stories, below, about the loss of small business, with the other - that I cannot find online - about the cost of the inauguration ball, so far estimated at $40 million.
Drugstores Fret as Insurers Demand Pills by Mail
By MILT FREUDENHEIM
Published: January 1, 2005
Employer health plans across the country are forcing millions of consumers to change their drug-buying habits. And one side effect could be the decline of the neighborhood drugstore.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/01/business/01drugstore.html?oref=loginand
A Sudden Slide Down, Physically and Financially
Her nightmare, as she describes it, began in the late 1990's, when insurance companies stopped paying her for her massage services, choosing to pay physical therapists instead. Her business disappeared, and soon she was unable to pay her rent. By the winter of 2003, she was evicted.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/01/nyregion/nyregionspecial/01neediest.html