Man politely robs bank for $1, lands free healthcare in prison.

Well now that this has turned into a universal healthcare debate, I'm just going to throw out my support for Sarah 100%. All of her posts thus far have been excellent, intelligent and logical. Matt, all I'm going to ask you is if you do have health insurance under your parents, and to ask yourself what your life would look like if they didn't. I'm going to take a wild guess and say it wouldn't be as carefree and relaxed as it is now.

I agree, Sarah has been pretty logical. And I do have health insurance under my parents. I understand how the current system can ruin people's lives because of the sheer cost of medical procedures. Personally, I might not be to bad off. Through my lifetime I can't think of anything major that has happened to me or my family members, but I understand what you're trying to get at. Hell, if I didn't have health insurance I might never have been sent to residential treatment for a year which, iirc, the tuition to the school was $60,000 paid for by insurance. I would have loved not to have went. Anyways, my point isn't that the current system is good. It isn't. It is terrible. It is a horrible mix of socialism and capitalism. There are ridiculous regulations and insurance abuse. Insurance companies charge ridiculous amounts and people overuse insurance and medical officials overcharge for medical care. Socialism would alleviate the potential bankruptcy people face under the current system, but what it does is just transfer the current system to the government and the only problem it really fixes is the amount of people insured. It fails to actually lower costs significantly.

I understand that socialism can and will work. I just really, really disagree with the fundamental idea of it. Forced redistribution is something I despise. I don't think the government should force peaceful people to do anything.

Problem is he was charged with robbery and not assault even though he had a weapon. This means he won't get any healthcare whatsoever. Pretty sure the suits in the government made sure of that.

I'm not sure of this guy's previous criminal, but he's beyond screwed now. People aren't going to hire him with a criminal record. He's arguably worse off than before.

And really, put yourself in the government's position. If they do give this guy healthcare that will encourage other people to disobey the law simply to have their health problems attended in prison. Can you imagine the mass civil disobedience that would ensue if they gave this guy healthcare? I understand that his health problems are severe, but I don't think he thought past step 2.

That is retarded. If the government takes away the ability for someone to provide for themselves then they ought to provide some compensation.