Several Facebook groups I’m in sometimes have GoFundMe requests for medical bills and I like to ask who they voted for before donating money to the request.
I’ve received a lot of flack for asking that, and I don’t understand why. If you voted for a person who wanted to abolish ObamaCare, why the hell would I send you money for your medical expenses? Reap what you sow is how I feel.
Am I wrong?
If you’re going to help someone then just help them. Asking who they voted for just makes you look obnoxious. Like you’re less interested in helping someone and more interested in scoring political points.
Do you really want to means test your compassion?
Consider helping someone out of the kindness of your heart, not your perception of their worthiness.
We’re trying to be better than that - you’re not helping
That’s fair. And it’s definitely a moral question I ask myself.
But if someone consistently told you how UHC is socialism, and people don’t deserve handouts, and people should pull themselves up by the bootstraps, and they are happy with their health insurance that they pay for themselves, and then asks for medical bill money, we should help them? They shouldn’t have to live with their own consequences?
I certainly understand that. It’s not an easy world to navigate at any time and it’s even more difficult now.
Even if someone was in favor of Obamacare, their premiums, deductible, and total out-of-pocket could have gone up by quite a bit. A person with a great employer paid plan pre-Obamacare could well be worse off now, and might not be able to afford the additional expenses. Voting against that can be justified, unless you think the well-being of those who previously had no insurance must be more important to everyone than their individual and family concerns.
I’m not charitable to people that smoke cigarettes. I figure all the money they spent on cigarettes coulda helped them out. I can do this on a local (in person) level, otherwise how would I know.
to ask them though, like the help depends on their answer, really comes across as petty.
best to do a little detective work on your own. and if it brings up nothing politically, then that person is probably just one of the mindless masses duped by soundbytes, commercials, and mailers.
and if they’re on the internet gathering bucks for a medical problem, sounds like punishment enough.
I get you though. I’d do the same if I found out someone voted for trump this next go round. I’d probably try not to tell them that though.
also, what if they didn’t vote? nowadays indifference is just as bad as supporting the wrong person imo. what then?
Well, thinking “Sure that screws 40 million people, but at least I don’t have to pay an extra $100 for MY family” strikes me as a terrible way of thinking.
As I understand it, Go Fund Me is voluntary, and I can help or not, for any reason I choose. You don’t have to give to all indiscriminately.
Anyone who needs to beg for medical expenses is still going to come up thousands of dollars short, and the hospital will end up blowing that off anyway, so you’re just donating to the hospital corporation. And that shifts it over into political-statement territory. As in “Why should it be paid with public funds, when suckers like jtur88 are good for it?”
Topical thread from 2015.
I dont NEED health insurance! (Um… Can I have money to pay my medical bills?)
Thank you for that link. That’s exactly what I’m asking about.
Asking whom/what they voted for does strike me as crass somehow. But TBH, if I knew that the person had voted against other people getting the help they’re now asking for, I’d be much more likely to pass.
Choosing whether or not to give based on a person’s history, etc. is your right. Asking outright who they voted for is rude and makes it a political statement by you rather than a choice of whether or not to support the fund. If I’m faced with one of the GoFundMe postings, I either know the person well or I make sure to do at least a bit of homework to make sure it’s a legitimate request and find out more about the person and situation. If I’m not comfortable with what I find, I pass it by. I don’t start asking direct questions and making it about me and my needs and feelings.
If I don’t want to, for whatever reason, I just move on.
Just help without strings attached. This isn’t a time for political jobs or “I-told-you-sos” or “suffer for thinking differently than me.”
I had surgery last year. Even with an Obamacare gold plan, it still devoured my bank account.
In a country with a secret ballot, when someone asks who you voted for, the correct answer is “None of your business”.
Count me as naturally skeptical of GoFundMe requests in general. Unless I know the person personally, and have a sense of their personal struggles, I’m suspicious of generalized GoFundMe. But that’s just me.
Now, if you are different than me and inclined to respond to these requests, then I would say the ethical choice would be to NOT put conditions on your gift.
I too have a litmus test. I never help anyone who favors Eddie Van Halen over Randy Rhoads. Those guys can bite it.
If just $100, I agree, but if it’s running into several thousands of dollars and you’re already struggling to provide for a family of five, I think it’s legit.