US man stages $1 bank robbery to get state healthcare (2011)

What he did was hand the clerk a note that said: "This is a bank robbery, please only give me one dollar." Then, as he later told the local NBC news station, he calmly sat in the corner of the bank having told the clerk: "I'll be sitting right over there in the chair waiting for the police."
...
He invited the paper to send a reporter to interview him in Gaston county jail, where he is now in custody facing charges of stealing from a person (for just $1 the prosecutors didn't think they could hold up a bank robbery charge).
He told the paper he had lost his job after 17 years as a Coca-Cola delivery man, and with it his health insurance. He was in increasing pain from slipped discs, arthritic joints, a gammy foot and a growth on his chest.
Since being in the jail he has attained his goal: he has been seen by nurses and an appointment with a doctor is booked.

Gaston County jail
So strange to see my home county mentioned on the Internet, had to double-take.

Greatest country on earth!!!!

*terms and conditions apply

**must be rich, white, straight and a man to have a chance to win
- mostly rich though.
- Spoken in a sped-up voice

Healthcare is such a basic human right. Single payer for all (Medicare) should be our priority. The wealthy look at everything as theirs. Anything that needs to be done in society is "why should I pay for that?" I have a friend who makes a lot of money and he said that people who work hard should be rewarded and I asked him if he meant people who work hard or if he meant people who earn a lot of money and he didn't know what to say.

Why should the poor subsidize their income with our labor?
Edit for clarity: If the rich do not want to subsidize basic human rights then the poor should not subsidize the bank accounts of the wealthy.
I’m fucking poor bro. I’m not gonna ever be on team money.
- I think we should be subsidizing people's poor reading comprehension.
  Why should the poor subsidize their income with our labor?
  the poor ... our = us
  their = the rich
  This commenter was asking for someone to try and justify why we (the working class) should have our labor contribute to the income of people whose existence is based on exploiting others. A perfectly reasonable question.
- Because they didn't choose to be born poor and probably work harder than you. Any other questions?
- their income
  whose income? the rich friend's income? or the people needing healthcare?
- Sadly about 40-50% of the population are MAGA, which believe they are all temporarily inconvenienced billionaires. Any day now that MAGA person is going to get lots of money (probably the lottery) and they dont want the pay all those taxes ... so they sit in their trailer park with their MAGA hat and "Let's Go Brandon" bumper sticker just waiting to go vote how the billionaires of "team money" tell them to.
With a few notable exceptions (such as medicine), the more financially rewarding the job, the less hard you have to work. In fact, that’s the whole point of getting a career! By cultivating some rare skillset, you can do less work for more money. People don’t go into finance or consulting to “work hard.”
- yup. that's why people can be CEO of multiple companies. They don't do anything.

again?

(2011)

... oh. um, ok

Still relevant 14 years later, just like the hit show at the time where a high school chemistry teacher cooks and sells meth to pay for his cancer treatments.
- Did anyone go "Wtf is wrong with the system" when that show came out? Because I don't remember that happening. Of course I'm from Europe lol
You used to be able to get health care by stealing $1, but now you have to kill an insurance CEO.
- Well, only if you’re going for style points.
- It'd be hilarious if Luigi got healthcare because of that. Especially if it's with UHC.

The US treats its people worse than its prisoners. And I bet some idiots out there think it means they should start treating their prisoners worse.

I get your point, but the US prison system is also really horrible. Healthcare is terrible and prisoners have a very high chance of dying from lack of proper treatment. Every year in prison lowers your life expectancy by two years (source).
- Tbf that happens out of jail, too.
- Yep, and that applies even without any existing health concerns going in. Better hope you don't develop any while living under those conditions.
  I'm T1 diabetic, and have an unfortunately reasonable expectation that even a week spent in jail back in the US could very easily turn into a death sentence. It does happen with depressing regularity. That's just looking at one very straightforward (and easily treatable) chronic condition, and a couple of fairly recent examples which have gotten more publicity than most such cases ever will. It's a mess.
Unfortunately that is not even close to true. I get what you mean but prisons are . . . not great. People regularly die of neglect in jails. Prisons are slightly better than that, but it costs 50x more.
- People regularly die of neglect out in the streets, where everyone can see them, as well.
The US treats its people worse than its prisoners.
And that's while treating their prisoners horribly.

Years ago, I have read that Mongolian street children in the capital, Ulan Bataar, would intentionally steal to get arrested so that they would have a warm place to stay during the cold nights in Mongolia.

America has now stooped this low.

I hear this has happened in Japan as well. Some elderly folks without family stage stickups for a good meal and a place to stay. What a fucking world we live in.

I always wondered why more homeless people didn't do this in the us

Yea... Why wouldn't someone want to be imprisoned, so strange
- I mean, if the outside is absolutely freezing (and people have died of hypothermia already), and you have to rummage garbage bins for food, Why not?

Creative debt bondage

This weirdly feels like it'd be a good movie, sort of like Dog Day Afternoon. "The One Dollar Bank Heist"

Jail is basically my retirement plan if all else fails (and it probably will)

That must be a good State.

Most State prisons will torture and starve you until you die. You can buy food and soap at outrageous surcharges.

Dang George Carling looks fucked up! Ever since he died he hasn't said anything. Not one joke. Not even an utterance. A limerick about Jesus! Fuck no! No riddles or really cute stories about poo bear or the stupid train Thomas the dumbass. But seriously, if he was alive he would look just like that because of everything that's been happening. Reminds me of the "fucking dog" bit...thrown up on the counter with us asking for another god dammed Georgy.