No recovery in sight...ethical recovery, that is.

Yesterday's big news was the report that "the pharmaceutical giant Pfizer agreed to pay $2.3 billion to settle civil and criminal allegations that it had illegally marketed its painkiller Bextra, which has been withdrawn. It was the largest health care fraud settlement and the largest criminal fine of any kind ever...The government charged that executives and sales representatives throughout Pfizer’s ranks planned and executed schemes to illegally market not only Bextra but also Geodon, an antipsychotic; Zyvox, an antibiotic; and Lyrica, which treats nerve pain. While the government said the fine was a record sum, the $2.3 billion fine amounts to less than three weeks of Pfizer’s sales. Much of the activities cited Wednesday occurred while Pfizer was in the midst of resolving allegations that it illegally marketed Neurontin, anepilepsy drug for which the company in 2004 paid a $430 million fine and signed a corporate integrity agreement — a companywide promise to behave...Almost every major drug maker has been accused in recent years of giving kickbacks to doctors or shortchanging federal programs. Prosecutors said that they had become so alarmed by the growing criminality in the industry that they had begun increasing fines into the billions of dollars and would more vigorously prosecute doctors as well...Mr. Loucks, the prosecutor, accused Pfizer of aggressive marketing tactics.“Among other things, Pfizer did the following: Pfizer invited doctors to consultant meetings, many in resort locations. Attendees expenses were paid; they received a fee just for being there,” he said. Such weekend getaways for doctors are still common throughout the drug and medical device industries..."

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The article does not even come close to the essential point that is missing in the story. The financial penalty is just taking some cash out of the earnings of the company- a little nick for shareholders who can use a Pfizer band-aid to forget. The managers who committed these crimes have not paid any penalty, and can continue working at Pfizer and commit similar acts again. This is the fundamental issue with Corporate America- no accountability for managers, especially at the top.