I watched it and enjoyed it. Personally, though, I felt he and his fiance were being naive about the bills.
I’ve known people at that level of poverty, and there are things you just don’t bother worrying about; medical bills is one of them. You’re living literally paycheck to paycheck, you only pay any bill on “final notice” (ever hear the phrase “paying bills by color”?), and you don’t have anything close to a decent credit rating. Medical bills are lowest priority, because no one is going to refuse treatment because of unpaid bills - but the electric company will shut off the lights if you don’t pay their bill at least once every few months.
It’s also a reason to use the emergency room. A regular clinic might turn you away if you can’t pay. The ER never will.
Obviously they want to make the situation seems as poor as possible, so I have trouble believing that everything on that show is representative of how it actually is.
Fun to watch, but it’s just another Supersize Me (e.g. a pre-determined goal dictates the direction of the show).
I don’t want to seem rude, but I’m not sure what you mean, and why you use it as a negative.
The only thing I can see, is that it’s less of a documentary and more of a social experiment, or even a reality show, but I think that everything that happened, did actually happen. Am I deluded?
I don’t work in the ER, but I see minimum wage (if not outright unemployed) patients every damn day.
NO-this show did NOT color it up or make it worse or strain the credibility of any of it. It IS that bad, the system sucks; it is broken and needs a complete overhaul.
I treat each of my pts as I would want to be treated. Unfortunately, I cannot overcome a lifetime of ignorance and fear of hospitals that pervades alot of this community. I have alot of frustration for people who are not compliant, but also alot of sympathy for those who want to be compliant but simply cannot be.
We have frequent flyers who come in (thru ER) because they cannot afford their pills or because now they are homeless d/t nonpayment of rent, because they are too sick to work and cannot make the money needed etc–it’s a vicious, soul destroying cycle. I challenge any of us here to try to make it thru the Byzantine structure of “public aide and assistance”.
I have been that poor, Righto. Trust me, they got it right.
I do not see where there is any inherent bias. They start with a situation and then live the experience to see where it leads.
I liked the point that was made about how difficult it is to raise children in such a situation. Having been raised under similar circumstances, alot of what they showed rang true.
Well, I am that poor. Granted, I’m not supporting a family (nor will I be on this salary, because I have a brain), but I am paying for college. Despite this, I’m managing just fine.
That’s why one shouldn’t have children if they can’t afford them.
Am glad that you are managing fine there. I do see that your current situation will be a temporary one for you too. But for others, it isn’t a temporary situation. I was young and being raised by a widowed mother with several siblings. All of us have managed to improve upon our situations too. The struggle has made us more thankful for what we have now.
As for the second part, most parents will tell you that few people can truly afford children these days. They bring children into this world for many different reasons, most of them involving a sense of want and love. Heck most of the time, these things happen accidentally. Most kids aren’t planned, they just happen. Just because someone is poor, this does not mean that they cannot be good caring loving parents. It just means that money is tighter.
Right, because I’m taking steps to prevent this problem from being a perpetual one.
I don’t have much sympothy for those who did nothing with their lives, and have an income that reflects that (yes, I know there are exceptions, as there are with any rule, but for most people, their wealth - or lack thereof - is entirely self-inflicted).
You are making the assumption that poor people do nothing with their lives, or try nothing to improve their lives. Some simply work to exist and to support their families. Others work to make things better for themselves and their families. Sometimes they succeed. Sometimes they do not. Should they suffer because of their failings?
Affordable health care, food, rent, utilities, should be available to all, not just the ones who “make it”. Sadly, today it isnt like that. Spurlock’s show reflected a reality for many. At the very least, it brings these topics up for debate.
First of all, it’s not an assumption so much as an opinion I’ve formed based on what I’ve seen and experienced. Note that I did never used the word “all” and clearly recognized that there are exceptions, but for the most part, I stand by what I said.
Also, your paraphrase of my ramblings are not accurate. I did not say that these people “do nothing,” I stated that they “did nothing,” one being past-tense, the other present-tence. I believe that most people who lack a high income now are paying for their mistakes earlier in life, which has lead them to where they are now. Do I think they deserve it? No. But I also don’t have a problem with it either.
And while some of these people may be working hard now, it’s never too late to obtain a better job, though they may need to get a better education first. Whether they have the drive to do that is another matter.
One Sunday I woke feeling terrible (no, hadn’t been drinking) and it was like I was bad-drunk. Dizzy. Puking. Bad stomach.
After a few hours of this my stomach was totally empty. I couldn’t keep water down. Eventually, while puking up nothing but water, I started bringing up bloody water.
There may be a clinic in this town that’s open on a Sunday afternoon. Instead I went to the ER of the closest hospital.
I get there, check in, curl up on the floor of the ER (a chair was too uncomfortable) and wait for just under three hours. I get a bed, they give me a saline IV or three (I kept falling asleep) and told me that it was just a virus - have a nice day. Dehydration was my problem.
Total bill? $700. Total amount covered by insurance? $60.
I had no idea how badly I’d get reamed going to the ER. Why would I? I hadn’t been there for myself since I was 5 years old. As hard as it may be for some to believe, I didn’t fill out the paperwork on that visit…
I’m looking forward to the rebroadcast of this show. I’ve been poor – not destitute or homeless though – and it takes a bit of creativity and imaginaton (and maybe some dishonesty) to get by.
Floating checks, clipping coupons, collecting aluminum and newspapers (back when you’d get paid for it), remaking clothes, typing at home (even if it meant hauling the typewriter home from work, on the bus).
As for using the ER, if you have insurance and something comes up after hours, many plans have a provision that allows you to use the ER, if you get it cleared first. Ours had a 24/7 hotline. Describe your symptoms, and get an okay to use the ER at the normal co-pay rate.
Are you implying that as long as I have the drive to accomplish a goal, that I will be able to accomplish it? So now that I am almost 30 years old, I decide that I want to become a concert pianist. I have never had lessons, but as long as I start taking them now and work really hard, I should be able to do it, right?
Some people would love to improve on thier situation, but can’t afford to do so. Let’s take the example of the guy in the show who back in the 70’s had a decent paying job working for G.M. Maybe he started a family, banking on his solid employer and good wages. He later gets laid off, and being unskilled for the most part, struggles to find a job.
Just when is he supposed to go back to school if he is working multiple jobs simply so his family can get by? How can we assume he has the neccesary ability to get through even the most basic formal education?
Just because your situation affords you the ability to be a successful (I am assuming here) student, does not mean that this will work for everyone in a similar situation.
