US man stages $1 bank robbery to get state healthcare

[darth los]

Peeps, this is the state of things in the mighty United states. And there's no defending this. Supposedly the richest country in the world has citizens resorting to this. Who needs universal healthcare right? THIS GUY!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jun/21/verone-one-dollar-robbery-healthcare

:cool:

[bassman]

You've got to give it to him, it was a pretty good idea. I've often wondered why homeless people don't do the same...

[JDFP]

He should be given a very stiff sentence for attempting to defraud taxpayers and the state. What he did was unacceptable and was done with malicious forethought as well before doing it. Now, it will cost thousands of dollars of taxpayer money for his legal fees paid for by taxpayers and thousands of additional dollars for his incarceration. If the state slaps him on the wrist and sets him on his way it will set an example that others can attempt to cheat the system and cheat taxpayers. A clear example needs to be set that this type of behavior will not be tolerated.

So, good luck on your "free" medical care in prison, Mr. Verone, here's my wallet and the wallet of other taxpayers who pay into the system to cover you. Hope you enjoy the fruits of my labor. And hopefully the state of North Carolina will ensure your visit to prison will be more than a slap on the wrist since you're defrauding and cheating the system.

j.p.

[darth los]

You've got to give it to him, it was a pretty good idea. I've often wondered why homeless people don't do the same...

Ahem... Well BM, it just so happens that during my experiences (which you already know about) I saw many a homeless person committ minor offeses, particularly during the winter months, in order to get "3 hots and a cot", so to speak.

Imo, that's different all together. It's not clear that they were doing it for health reasons as is the case with this guy. I mean what else was he supposed to do? He worked 17 years and fell on hard times, so he is hardly a welfare king. So what was his alternative? Roll over and die?

What makes us humans what we are is the ability to adapt and survive. Same reason why Latin Americans risk life and limb and cross deserts to come here get a better life.

Some see a waste of tax payer dollars. While some see a healthcare system that's broken.

But really, what would be the christian thing to do? Take care of these people? Or complain about how much it's costing us in taxes?

Now that's one to grow on peeps.

I'm just sayin'.

:cool:

[SRP76]

Oh yes, it's easy to get all the free food, clothing, shelter, and healthcare you need. But you also have to deal with that whole "being in prison" thing. If it's worth it to you, go for it.

[bassman]

Some see a waste of tax payer dollars. While some see a healthcare system that's broken.


QFT. :thumbsup:

Besides....this amount of money is probably nothing compared to the rest of the crap the tax dollars go to.

Don't blame it on JD, though. He just hasn't had his daily minimum requirement of an 18 pack. :p

[JDFP]

Actually my electricity at home is out due to a bad storm last night and I'm extra-cranky today. I'm hoping to have power back on when I get off work later today.

I'd actually argue it's both: The system IS broken AND it's a waste of taxpayer money to keep people locked up and provide for their incarceration when it's not necessary.

As far as the 18-pack remark, I'll have you know I'm no lush. A good-ol' 12-pack a day to keep the doc away works just fine for me, thank you kindly. :)

j.p.

[darth los]

QFT. :thumbsup:

Besides....this amount of money is probably nothing compared to the rest of the crap the tax dollars go to.

Don't blame it on JD, though. He just hasn't had his daily minimum requirement of an 18 pack. :p


Funny, I never mentioned JD's name....:confused:

Talk about word association huh? :D



Actually my electricity at home is out due to a bad storm last night and I'm extra-cranky today. I'm hoping to have power back on when I get off work later today.

I'd actually argue it's both: The system IS broken AND it's a waste of taxpayer money to keep people locked up and provide for their incarceration when it's not necessary.

As far as the 18-pack remark, I'll have you know I'm no lush. A good-ol' 12-pack a day to keep the doc away works just fine for me, thank you kindly. :)

j.p.


I'd have to agree with you and I think I've said that before as well. Things in life aren't black and white. It's never just one thing that causes a problem but a combination of things.

Unfortunately, Society tends to focus on the most obvious ones and that in turn obfuscates the others. (What? Only aces, kraken and trin can use 50 dollar words now? ;) )

:cool:

[slickwilly13]

That is one bank robber I would not shoot dead. I feel bad for him actually. Btw, how in the fuck did you manage to earn nearly 42,000 pts? Is this why you have not been on the site in a while?

[Danny]

honestly, much as our hospitals need an overhaul, ive wondered why there isnt an english equivalent over there. Here theres a tax paid free health service. you break your arm, they go in and set it and cast it. no $1500 fee. but if you want something a little better and personal there are private hospitals you can pay for 'better' treatment anyway. It's not perfect but its a damn sight better than having a tumour you can't get removed because you can't front the bill right now.

[krakenslayer]

Unfortunately, Society tends to focus on the most obvious ones and that in turn obfuscates the others. (What? Only aces, kraken and trin can use 50 dollar words now? ;) )

:cool:

Obfuscate: that is a good one! :D

Here's another one for free: altruism. Although, as a foreigner, my right to comment is probably limited, I've often thought that some US taxpayers could do with having more of it. :)

[darth los]

That is one bank robber I would not shoot dead. I feel bad for him actually. Btw, how in the fuck did you manage to earn nearly 42,000 pts? Is this why you have not been on the site in a while?

Well, i was, still am for that matter, having personal issues. I guess i lost myself in videogame land for a while as an escape. I didn't want to come on the site and be a dick to everyone as others have done in the past. I didn't want to be that guy.

But I'm better now, I swear. just ask my court appointed shrink. :duh:

:cool:

[slickwilly13]

Well, i was, still am for that matter, having personal issues. I guess i lost myself in videogame land for a while as an escape. I didn't want to come on the site and be a dick to everyone as others have done in the past. I didn't want to be that guy.

But I'm better now, I swear. just ask my court appointed shrink. :duh:

:cool:

I hear you. It is not cool to take your fustrations out on people who have nothing to do with your problems. I had some personal issues not long ago, too. And I am just now getting back on track. It affected my training, my health, and my mood.

[Exatreides]

It's a common theme among conservatives to blame the poor for being poor. However its not that this man didn't "try" The article clearly states that he had jobs in the past, and that he had worked. He's a victim of circumstances mostly outside of his control.

Since he had no insurance, by committing larceny and being forced to use cheap prison society health care, who knows he might have actually saved tax payers dollars compared to checking himself into the emergency room and undergoing possibly thousands and thousands of dollars worth of treatment.

[Publius]

It's a common theme among conservatives to blame the poor for being poor. However its not that this man didn't "try" The article clearly states that he had jobs in the past, and that he had worked. He's a victim of circumstances mostly outside of his control.

He may have had jobs in the past, but here's (http://www.gastongazette.com/news/bank-58397-richard-hailed.html) his goal now:

"The ideal scenario would include back and foot surgery and a diagnosis and treatment of the protrusion on his chest, he said. He would serve a few years in prison and get out in time to collect Social Security and move to the beach."


Since he had no insurance, by committing larceny and being forced to use cheap prison society health care, who knows he might have actually saved tax payers dollars compared to checking himself into the emergency room and undergoing possibly thousands and thousands of dollars worth of treatment.

First, you think prison health care is cheap? Prisons tend to get criticized for substandard health care, but providing health care to prisoners can be very expensive. For one thing, prisoners are often sent to normal clinics or hospitals for care that's not available in prison, and then the state has to pay for security and transportation costs that normal patients don't incur. Second, health care is not the only cost of incarcerating someone. It's a pretty pricy way of providing room and board (due in large part to the aforementioned security requirements). Third, many prison systems have serious overcrowding problems. People pulling stunts like this increases the chance that judges will end up ordering prisoner releases to ease the overcrowding, creating a possibility that real criminals will wind up back on the street before their time. Like how the Supreme Court recently ruled that California needs to release 30,000 convicted felons over the next two years.

[MikePizzoff]

Props to this dude. This is what I should have done when I tore a ligament in my ankle. Instead, I now have credit agencies hunting me down for nearly $4,000 I owe to the hospital. $4,000 to sit in the ER for 3 hours, get 1 X-ray, have a doctor look at me for about 2.5 minutes, and then have a nurse put a half-cast on my ankle (which only lasted 2 weeks).

[JDFP]

Props to this dude. This is what I should have done when I tore a ligament in my ankle. Instead, I now have credit agencies hunting me down for nearly $4,000 I owe to the hospital. $4,000 to sit in the ER for 3 hours, get 1 X-ray, have a doctor look at me for about 2.5 minutes, and then have a nurse put a half-cast on my ankle (which only lasted 2 weeks).

While I think it's absolutely insane for you to be charged $4,000 for the x-ray and your wait in ER, and I don't think it's right you should have to pay that much, I can't give this guy any kudos at all. Would it have been better for all the rest of us to pay for your bill? I don't think so. The medical cost should have never been that high to begin with (and I'd be sore about it as you are too) -- even so, it shouldn't be my responsibility and the responsibility of other taxpayers to front the bill for someone else.

Indeed, we certainly need some MAJOR reforms on medical practices and bills - the expenditures are entirely too high for the services. Likewise, should doctors be making millions of dollars every year? Or having to pay thousands-upon-thousands of dollars every month for malpractice insurance?

j.p.

[darth los]

Then there's this point too. There are a slew of things that my taxes go for that i have no control over and that I am adamantly against.

For example, everyone hates New Yorkers and thinks we're arrogant, blah, blah,blah. However, did you know that last year 5.7 billion dollars of our tax payer money went to fund the wars, by far the most in the country. I hate these fucking wars and don't think it's right that my tax money goes to fund them. How is that right?

So if we're going to make this an issue then we have to review the whole tax system, not just the things we don't agree with.

:cool:

[AcesandEights]

While I think it's absolutely insane for you to be charged $4,000 for the x-ray and your wait in ER, and I don't think it's right you should have to pay that much, I can't give this guy any kudos at all. Would it have been better for all the rest of us to pay for your bill?

To be fair, if more Americans worked and paid taxes and we started to actually come up with a way to legalize worker status for those working illegally in the US (doing the jobs we consider beneath us) and tax them, we could definitely all chip in for healthcare, assuming we could reform the current healthcare system.

I think we could swing it if cool and uncorrupted heads could ever prevail (read: not in a bajillion years), but don't see that happening anytime soon.

I remember seeing a report that over 40% of Americans currently pay 0 or negative federal income tax dollars. I don't know if that's true, it was published by a government agency after all, but if it is that's scary as hell.

I would, however, like to go on the record and say I would have gladly chipped in the .000000001 cents that my share would have cost me for Mike to get his leg looked at. Big of me, eh? :D

[Trin]

Unfortunately, Society tends to focus on the most obvious ones and that in turn obfuscates the others. (What? Only aces, kraken and trin can use 50 dollar words now? ;) )
That's just inflation Darth. You've moved up to the 50 dollar words, yes, but we've all gone to the 100 dollar words.

[MikePizzoff]

While I think it's absolutely insane for you to be charged $4,000 for the x-ray and your wait in ER, and I don't think it's right you should have to pay that much, I can't give this guy any kudos at all. Would it have been better for all the rest of us to pay for your bill? I don't think so. The medical cost should have never been that high to begin with (and I'd be sore about it as you are too) -- even so, it shouldn't be my responsibility and the responsibility of other taxpayers to front the bill for someone else.

I completely understand where you're coming from with this. However, it really doesn't cost them $4,000 to do something like this, therefore if they were to give me the same treatment behind bars, the amount of money coming from the tax-payers would be miniscule (compared to $4k, anyway).



I would, however, like to go on the record and say I would have gladly chipped in the .000000001 cents that my share would have cost me for Mike to get his leg looked at. Big of me, eh? :D

:thumbsup: I shall remember this!

[DeadJonas190]

What surprises me in this is that nobody mentioned how much of our tax money actually does go towards paying for healthcare for the uninsured and how in relation to that cost, if we had a healthcare plan similar to the one Danny mentioned it would be much less of a burden on our tax dollars as costs would be controled (no $4000 3 hour ER visits) for said hospitals instead of the hospital being able to charge absurd amounts for basic treatments. I understand the costs in running a hospital are large, but does it really cost $1200 for a anesthesiologist, $20 for a few slices of bread and processed meat, $8 for a single Tylenol 3 or $300 for my personal doctor to walk in, say "How are you" and walk out (actual costs from my bill when I had an appendectomy)... I'm pretty sure it doesn't. If I hadn't had health insurance at that time my visit would have cost me $25,000 instead of the 5,000 that my insurance wouldn't cover (even though it was supposed to be covered in my policy). I find it sad that we have the ability here in the USA to provide the best quality medical care yet we allow our people to die becuase they can't afford even the basic medical care.

A tip I have learned recently for the uninsured. If you find yourself at a hospital with huge bills, most hospitals will lower the bills if you tell them you are uninsured and have no way of paying the large bills. A friend has seen bills reduced by thousands of dollars and even some of them completely taken away due to "grants" the hospital had recieved for just such things.

[bassman]

A tip I have learned recently for the uninsured. If you find yourself at a hospital with huge bills, most hospitals will lower the bills if you tell them you are uninsured and have no way of paying the large bills. A friend has seen bills reduced by thousands of dollars and even some of them completely taken away due to "grants" the hospital had recieved for just such things.

I had that happen to me once when I was younger and uninsured. I tried to set up a payment plan with the hospital, but when I showed them my bills(to help determine the amount I would have to pay monthly), they punched in the numbers and then handed me a paper labeled "paid in full". Not something I would recommend to everyone, but it was a nice surprise. They'll definitely work with you. Although I don't know if going in to set up a surgery like this guy needed could produce the same result...

[Andy]

Peeps, this is the state of things in the mighty United states. And there's no defending this. Supposedly the richest country in the world has citizens resorting to this. Who needs universal healthcare right? THIS GUY!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jun/21/verone-one-dollar-robbery-healthcare

:cool:

I know its late and this post was weeks ago but i just read this and i gotta say, richest country in the world? your either in denial or living in 1940 :lol: in terms of wealth, america (like us in europe) has been surpassed many times over by most of the middle east :p

If you had said largest debt in the world.. you would have been alot closer to the mark :p

[MikePizzoff]

I know its late and this post was weeks ago but i just read this and i gotta say, richest country in the world? your either in denial or living in 1940 :lol: in terms of wealth, america (like us in europe) has been surpassed many times over by most of the middle east :p

If you had said largest debt in the world.. you would have been alot closer to the mark :p

This is very true. I don't know how I didn't catch this!