By now, you should be well aware of the impending healthcare crisis in the US. You can hear it coming, as the barriers have been demolished protecting the common person from being exploited. The bankruptcy reform bill, a gift to credit companies everywhere, preys on the fact the #1 cause of personal bankruptcy are the result of healthcare costs. HMOs have long been reducing the ease & quality of care, while prices climb.
People will be in desperate positions.
They'll do desperate things, like look to Eric Rudolph for inspiration.
You see, William Crutchfield was $90,000 in debt with medical bills. At age 60, he wouldn't be able to work long enough to pay off the debts, even making a reasonable $60,000 a year. He would soon find himself homeless in his golden years.
So he's faced with a choice: be homeless, or find somewhere that will take you in. Shy of homeless shelters, there is no option open to him. I would also venture to bet that there is something behind the fact the article has no mention of any family, adding to his desperation level.
You've been ill, you're alone, and soon you'll lose your home. Where could you go?
Authorities say Crutchfield apparently watched with envy as Olympic bomber Eric Rudolph was headed to prison for life and aspired to the same fate -- allowing him to live off the government while behind bars.
And there he finds his answer - he'll go to jail. But you need to commit a federal crime to get into a federal prison. I believe there are many nonviolent ways to find yourself in Club Fed, but Crutchfield did the easiest, laziest thing he could do. He shot the mailman.
"He took his mail and then said, 'Hello.' And then just started shooting," Lazenby said from his hospital bed Tuesday. "He just casually got in his car and drove away."
To Crutchfield, it was all a business transaction that was necessary for him.
Situations like this will only continue to blossom as the wave of baby boomers continue to age, retire & become ill. When these events do occur, we need to shine a big light on them, and the underlying healthcare crisis.
This is a political debate progressives & liberals cannot lose if we force the debate. Georgian Democrats, contact your local media, write LTEs, contact your politicians - these are the stories that people relate to & understand.
We cannot allow the healthcare crisis to grow worse.
