So last weekend I was trying to get a Covid vaccine and came up against a frightening development in our society. And no, it wasn\u2019t the fact that after six years and change we are still dealing with this damn virus.<\/p>\n
I have major travel plans in September, so I wanted to get the vaccine a couple of weeks before my trip so I\u2019ll be at peak protection when I get on a plane. Travel plans have generally dictated how I schedule my shots, which I get every six months.<\/p>\n
I checked the CVS website, but couldn\u2019t find any appointments at the one nearest me. Then I checked Walgreens, and they had appointments through August 23, but not afterwards. The new vaccine drops in mid-September \u2013 while I\u2019m traveling \u2013 so I assumed they weren\u2019t going to order any more vaccines if they ran out.<\/p>\n
So I made an appointment for August 22 at the closest Walgreens. Walgreens sent me 9 messages via text and email confirming my appointment and reminding me of it.<\/p>\n
I showed up right on time, only to be informed that they didn\u2019t have it. \u201cBut I have an appointment,\u201d I said. The pharmacist looked at me like I was crazy for assuming I could get a vaccine when I had an appointment. He didn\u2019t apologize, but told me I could complain to \u201ccorporate.\u201d<\/p>\n
I got a cancellation text 10 minutes after I left the drugstore.<\/p>\n
I was furious, of course. Fortunately, a friend mentioned that a major grocery chain in her area still had vaccines, so I decided to check with Safeway.<\/p>\n
Their website said they did and that they took walk-ins, so I walked over on Sunday afternoon to get one, only to discover that they don\u2019t do vaccines in the last hour the pharmacy is open (no, the website doesn\u2019t mention that).<\/p>\n
But the clerk confirmed they still had the vaccine in stock. I asked if they would still have it Tuesday \u2013 I had plans on Monday \u2013 and she said maybe, but \u201ccorporate\u201d might decide to have all the vaccines shipped back at any moment.<\/p>\n
And that\u2019s when it hit me, with that second reference to \u201ccorporate,\u201d that big companies control a large part of our lives these days without us having any right to push back at how they do it.<\/p>\n
I took the Safeway clerk at her word, changed my Monday plans, showed up when they started doing vaccines at 10 am, and got my shot from a very nice pharmacist. But \u201ccorporate\u201d was still pinging in my head. <\/p>\n
I\u2019ve read all of the Murderbot books by Martha Wells, so I\u2019ve got a science fictional take on just how awful corporate control of society can look. The corporates \u2013 and that\u2019s the word used, not corporation, but corporates \u2013 have employees who essentially indentured to them. They sign people up for labor contracts that leave them with little in the way of rights. And they charge for everything, all the time, and even try to cheat when they\u2019ve made a contract.<\/p>\n
In this future world, sometimes the corporates go to war with each other, or turn on their own with violence. There\u2019s no government to rein them in.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s the kind of world the broligarch crowd want to create. As I said last week, I\u2019m currently reading Gil Duran\u2019s The Nerd Reich<\/i>, where he discusses the fact that many of the billionaire tech guys are opposed to democracy and want to create \u201cnetwork states\u201d that are run by corporations.<\/p>\n
The only rights people have in such places are those they can afford to buy.<\/p>\n
Andrea Hairston included corporate-controlled cities in Archangels of Funk<\/i> along with other powerful entities that the good guys had to work around. Unlike Murderbot, this is a near-future story, and it provides a reasonable scenario for the libertarian dreams Duran chronicles.<\/p>\n
Now we\u2019re not there yet \u2013 though there are a couple of network state settlements and also some of the more old-fashioned variety of company towns. But we\u2019re getting a taste of what that reality could be like in areas where corporate-controlled businesses dominate the market.<\/p>\n
Both CVS and Walgreens put their chain drugstores in places where they could drive local independent pharmacies out of business. These days there are very few independent pharmacies and most of the ones left do specialized services. Then the chains started locking up a lot of the products \u2013 even though their stores are notoriously understaffed \u2013 and closing stores, even ones that had heavy traffic.<\/p>\n
Walgreens is owned by a private equity firm now. CVS is tied to Aetna health insurance in some manner \u2013 I haven\u2019t researched all their legal ties, but I get better rates there due to my insurance.<\/p>\n
And for that matter, Safeway is also owned by private equity.<\/p>\n
Now pharmacies are an important resource that everyone needs. Many of us take prescription drugs, and almost everyone uses some over-the-counter drug products such as asprin or eye drops.<\/p>\n
A lot of doctors\u2019 offices don\u2019t give vaccines these days; they refer you to the pharmacies. And that means whether you can get the vaccines \u2013 or, in some cases, your prescription in a timely manner \u2013 is under the control of \u201ccorporate,\u201d not medical professionals.<\/p>\n
These drug stores have trained, registered pharmacists, but \u201ccorporate\u201d makes the decisions.<\/p>\n
Private equity firms and other powerful corporations are taking over a lot of businesses in the U.S. I\u2019ve noticed it with veterinarians \u2013 all the ones around here are owned by Mars Corp., the privately-held candy company. Every vet visit now includes an \u201cestimate\u201d before they do their treatment, and prices have gone through the roof.<\/p>\n
Finding a reasonable alternative is getting harder.<\/p>\n
And of course, an awful lot of jobs these days are with big companies who, especially in the absence of strong unions, put a lot of restrictions that have nothing to do with the job on their employees.<\/p>\n
Now I try to avoid the corporates when I can. I have a great mechanic who is just a block away \u2013 very useful, since my car is old, though not yet at the point where it would cost less to get a new one. I shop at the farmers market and an independent grocery. I go to local restaurants and indie bookstores and small hardware chains.<\/p>\n
\u201cCorporate\u201d doesn\u2019t make decisions in those places. I feel like I can trust their products and their advice.<\/p>\n
But as my vaccine experience shows, there are things I need that I can\u2019t get from alternative places. And I haven\u2019t even mentioned tech products, where the corporate control is completely baked in.<\/p>\n
We\u2019re having to deal with \u201ccorporate\u201d more and more, and the broligarchs want to use it to run everything.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s past time to bring back democracy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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