What Does It Say About American Healthcare...

[Damen]

...when a man feels he has to rob a bank to be able to get the treatment he needs?

news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thelookout/20110621/ts_yblog_thelookout/man-robs-bank-to-get-medical-care-in-jail

Earlier this month, Verone (pictured), a 59-year-old convenience store clerk, walked into a Gaston, N.C., bank and handed the cashier a note demanding $1 and medical attention. Then he waited calmly for police to show up.

He's now in jail and has an appointment with a doctor this week.

Verone's problems started when he lost the job he'd held for 17 years as a Coca Cola deliveryman, amid the economic downturn. He found new work driving a truck, but it didn't last. Eventually, he took a part-time position at the convenience store.

But Verone's body wasn't up to it. The bending and lifting made his back ache. He had problems with his left foot, making him limp. He also suffered from carpal tunnel syndrome and arthritis.

Then he noticed a protrusion on his chest. "The pain was beyond the tolerance that I could accept," Verone told the Gaston Gazette. "I kind of hit a brick wall with everything."

Verone knew he needed help--and he didn't want to be a burden on his sister and brothers. He applied for food stamps, but they weren't enough either.

So he hatched a plan. On June 9, he woke up, showered, ironed his shirt. He mailed a letter to the Gazette, listing the return address as the Gaston County Jail.

"When you receive this a bank robbery will have been committed by me," Verone wrote in the letter. "This robbery is being committed by me for one dollar. I am of sound mind but not so much sound body."

Then Verone hailed a cab to take him to the RBC Bank. Inside, he handed the teller his $1 robbery demand.

"I didn't have any fears," said Verone. "I told the teller that I would sit over here and wait for police."

[Yla]

A lot, and not good things.

Verone says he’s not a political man.

But he has a lot to say on the subject of socialized medical care. He suspects he wouldn’t be talking to a reporter through a metal screen wearing an orange jumpsuit if such an option were available in the U.S.

This.

[caseagainstfaith]

So this mean that you get better healthcare in the joint than otherwise....that is pretty assbackwards. I guess though that is pretty common though for America anymore.

[vcvicesquad]

Wow, I wish we would have socialized healthcare. . .but the republicans says it's a bad thing. . .

[Damen]

Jun 21, 2011 17:00:20 GMT -5 caseagainstfaith said:

So this mean that you get better healthcare in the joint than otherwise....that is pretty assbackwards. I guess though that is pretty common though for America anymore.

And you know the kicker? I'll bet that if you tell the average American this, it'll be like when they find out what kind of pay union members get: they won't demand better healthcare for themselves, they'll demand worse healthcare for people in the joint.

[Mlle Antéchrist]

This is so depressing.

[Dragon Zachski]

I don't care what you think the solution is, the health care system is BROKEN. Stop trying to pretend that it's not, Republicans and some democrats! ><

[nickiknack]

I'm guessing there weren't any low cost healthcare places around where this guy lives....this is sad. I hate how the politicians(especially the Republicans) moan and bitch about how bad "socialized healthcare" is, but they aren't putting up any alternatives, like more low-cost healthcare places to be built...so sad how far this country has fallen.

[Vene]

Jun 21, 2011 17:37:59 GMT -5 nickiknack said:

I'm guessing there weren't any low cost healthcare places around where this guy lives....this is sad. I hate how the politicians(especially the Republicans) moan and bitch about how bad "socialized healthcare" is, but they aren't putting up any alternatives, like more low-cost healthcare places to be built...so sad how far this country has fallen.

Low cost healthcare doesn't really mean much when you're out of work. When your expenses to survive are greater than the money you bring in, finding even a couple bucks becomes an impossibility.

[Mlle Antéchrist]

I hold Fox News responsible for a lot of this crap. Granted, they're not the only cause, but the assholes they employ/have employed in the past have managed to convince numerous people that not having easy access to basic health care for everyone is somehow in their best interest. Most of these people can't even fathom not having schools, a police & fire department, roads & traffic signs, or the god damn mail service, but keeping sick people alive apparently isn't important enough to fund via tax dollars. After all, Glenn Beck would be herp diddily derping about it if it was. Buy gold!

[Alyra]

Well, of course! Survival of the fittest and all, you know! Shouldn't you Darwinists be all for that!!1!

Never mind that a lot of stuff won't kill you until it's been left too long, and it's left too long because people can't afford to see the doctor every time they cough.

[Mlle Antéchrist]

The thing that annoys the shit out of me is that rich people will run to the doctor every time they get the sniffles (or "exhaustion", whatever the fuck that is), while the poor aren't able to have life-saving surgeries or even get an assessment for a serious problem.

[MaybeNever]

Jun 21, 2011 17:54:58 GMT -5 Mlle Antéchrist said:

(or "exhaustion", whatever the fuck that is)

It's probably like the vapors.

[HarleyThomas1002]

Jun 21, 2011 17:41:06 GMT -5 Mlle Antéchrist said:

I hold Fox News responsible for a lot of this crap. Granted, they're not the only cause, but the assholes they employ/have employed in the past have managed to convince numerous people that not having easy access to basic health care for everyone is somehow in their best interest. Most of these people can't even fathom not having schools, a police & fire department, roads & traffic signs, or the god damn mail service, but keeping sick people alive apparently isn't important enough to fund via tax dollars. After all, Glenn Beck would be herp diddily derping about it if it was. Buy gold!

I'd like mail service, but my local mail carriers are on strike.

[Mlle Antéchrist]

Yeah, it's Canada-wide. Technically, it's a lock-out, not a strike. The Tories have tabled a bill to end it, but a lot of people are angry that it gives the workers a worse deal than the last offer made by Canada Post. Layton is threatening to filibuster, so it could be a while before things go back to normal.