Blog #7 Shamefully Late

Okay, Economix. Fun/interesting/mind-boggling cartoon filled book with so much information I take Advil before reading it to prevent the later headache. There are a lot of points that Goodwin makes in these images and it's kinda hard to keep them all straight. There was definitely a few different points that he made that stood out the most to me.
In the section titled "The Era of Limits (1966-1980)" He discusses competing monopolies and advertising. I think this is a really important section for all to understand because over time it can most definitely save money as well as put into perspective the tactics that these companies take in order to achieve a maximum revenue.
In a few strips, he discusses monopolies. "Every brand is a government protected Monopoly. You can  make and sell Cola, but if you call it Coke, you're going to jail. Monopolies have the power to charge more. Next time you're in the drugstore, check out how much less generic acetaminophen, pyrithione zinc shampoo, and loratadine cost than the exact same thing as brands added (Tylenol, Head & Shoulders, and Claritin, respectively).
It's actually really interesting how many people come up to the pharmacist with a box of generic and brand name of the same drug wondering if they are the same. Most times she won't even look up and just say "Yup" and they'll walk away. It's really just crazy to think that we associate so many of these brand names with whatever illness/disease someone has. Have a fever? Take some Tylenol. Have a headache? Take some Advil. Got a stomach ache? Take some Pepto-Bismol. I just realized now that in the beginning of this blog I literally wrote how I was going to take Advil to prevent a future headache, Ha. In your closest drug store, you'll notice that there are 3-4 different daily allergy medications available. They are all a little chemically different, but serve similar purposes. Xyzal, Claritin, Allegra and Zyrtec are popular brand name medications in which there is a generic for a relatively cheaper price (and potentially higher quantity) available right next to it or underneath it.
Today, we associate a brand name most with how we can treat a disease/disorder/headache/flu/etc. It's really interesting how that came to be, but it is clear that we are not completely understanding of the difference between brand and generic. Comparing 2 boxes of the same chemical components yet most would pick the brand name because of how we associate it with our illnesses. People, they are the same thing. Ask a pharmacist, a doctor, hell a worker at the store, and they will tell you the same thing.