Try this on for size -- in 2006, the Medicare system took a $32 billion dollar hit based on the number of drug prescriptions given to seniors in the U.S. under the Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit program.

That's $32 billion -- more than the annual sales of most Fortune 500 companies. It's amazing to see how many drug prescriptions are in use by older citizens in this country. The amount, to me, is amazing.

What did this nation do 50 years ago when there was no pharmaceutical drug industry to supply this "need?" Hard to say, but the amount now taken from the paychecks of all of us is sure fueling quite a few drug needs these days.