Why We Get What We Deserve (The Remix)
Almost a year ago, myself and my co-host of 2 Dope Boys & a Podcast, Michael Brooks wrote an article titled “Why We Get What We Deserve”. In it, we derided (among others) Martin Shkreli, infamous former CEO of biotech company Turing Pharmaceuticals. Shkreli unapologetically raised the price of one of their HIV drugs 6000% and reveled in his role as real life villain. Now the far less colorful CEO of Mylan, Heather Bresch, came under similar fire for a 600% increase in the price of their signature drug EpiPen. Bresch, now enters the rogues gallery, of CEOs, who even in an environment defined by structural inequality and corporate misconduct, stand out for reckless endangerment of public health and well being.
Of course, Bresch defended her decision to raise prices, appearing on CNBC with the protestation that she was “running a business”, as if this somehow was an explanation for her short term decision making, In fact, running a business has become the corporate version of “just following orders”. A blanket statement designed to justify amoral, short term and greed fueled decision making. At the same time, Bresch was raising the price of EpiPen her salary was experiencing a similar spike. As EpiPen’s price rose 400%, Bresch’s salary rose 600% over the same time period. Clearly she is directly incentivized to maximum the short term goals of the company at the benefit of her salary. This is a phenomenon discussed by Rana Faroohar in her new book “Makers and Takers: The Rise of Finance and the Fall of American Business”.
CEO’s are not rewarded to take chances and develop new technologies. They are rewarded to boost shareholder value even if that value is short term in nature. Their compensation and stock options are wired in such a way as to make this behavior the norm and this is what we have to confront when examining the action and ensuing rationale of Mylan CEO Heather Bresch.
Given the incredible reward via high salaries how do we break this cycle? A dramatic shift in the way business is conducted is necessary in order to make the Martin Shkreli’s and Heather Bresch’s obsolete. A systemic commitment to a long term outlook rather than a quarter by quarter Wall Street perspective. Developing the capacity for empathic tools to develop within organizations to help executives make decisions with a love centered thinking at its core.
This of course goes far beyond the ritual roasting of a couple of select sleazy pharma CEOs (although it is fun). Instead we need to hack Capitalism, the money system and corporate governance to redesign the system itself. Let’s start addressing causes not just symptoms.
The Deep Dive
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- Episode 261: Ethics and Culture of AI w/ Clara Hawking May 29, 2026Philip welcomes AI expert Clara Hawking to the show. In their conversation, they discuss the current cultural, regulatory and ethical journey of artificial intelligence and what is inevitable and what isn’t. The Drop – The segment of the show where Philip and his guest share tasty morsels of intellectual goodness and creative musings. Philip’s Drop: […]
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- Episode 259: Protest History of the United States w/ Gloria Browne-Marshall May 14, 2026Philip welcomes scholar/author and Emmy Awarrd winner Gloria Browne-Marshall to The Deep Dive to discuss her latest book A Protest History of the United States. In their conversation, they trace the social and political structure of the United States through the lens of protest movements. The Drop – The segment of the show where Philip […]
- Episode 258: Deficit Thinking & Feminist Economics w/ Emma Holten May 7, 2026Philip welcomes Emma Holten, author of Deficit: How Feminist Economics Can Change the World. In their conversation, they discuss how the “deficit’ frame impacts how the economy thinks about women’s labor and how feminist economics can create lasting changes in the world. The Drop – The segment of the show where Philip and his guest […]
- Episode 257: Redesigning Thinking & Service Design w/ Clive Grinyer April 29, 2026Philip welcomes Clive Grinyer, author of Redesigning Thinking: How Service Design is Solving Our 21st Century Challenges. In their conversation they reflect on how thinking itself can be framed as a design issue, how we build care into our processes and what constitutes “doing the right thing?” The Drop – The segment of the show […]
- Episode 256: The Great Resistance w/ Carrie Gibson April 22, 2026Philip welcomes Carrie Gibson, author of The Great Resistance: The 400 Year Fight to End Slavery in the Americas. In their conversation they trace how the history of resistance has been purposely obscured and how the lessons from those ancestorial responses to slavery and oppression are relevant today. The Drop – The segment of the […]
- Episode 255: The Business of Meaning w/ Peter Spear April 16, 2026Philip welcomes. Peter Spear, host and curator of the newsletter and podcast That Business of Meaning to the show. In their conversation, they discuss all things culture and how the current marketing and media landscape make sense of the world around it. The Drop – The segment of the show where Philip and his guest […]
- Episode 254: Bernie Goetz, Reagan and the Rebirth of White Rage w/ Heather Ann Thompson April 2, 2026Philip welcomes Heather Ann Thompson author of Fear and Fury: The Reagan Eighties, The Bernie Goetz Shootings and the Rebirth of White Rage to the show. In their conversation they discuss how the pivotal Bernie Goetz shooting of four innocent Black teens alongside the conservative austerity and race baiting of the Reagan Presidency set the […]