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This case is over but still warrants attention. A teen that happens to have wealthy parents killed four and injured two people when the vehicle he was driving collided with a broken-down car located on the side of the road. The teen's sentence: 10 years probation and mandatory rehabilitation treatment. The defense: affluenza.
The teen was drunk (under age drinking - bang).
The teen was driving (DUI - bang).
Two people injured (bang, bang).
Four people dead (kaboom).
Yet, the justice system awarded the teen probation. Corruption? Maybe, but no evidence has been found, and affluenza, what the fuck is that?
Affluenza, as defined by the defense attorney means wealthy to the extent an individual is not responsible for their behavior. The teen's lawyer argued his parents never set limits, and gave him whatever he wanted, so how could he know how to act?
It's shameful, but one bad decision by a judge does not mean the system is broken. However, this decision highlights the imperfection of the justice system, and the inequality that is brewing within our country.
If the four individuals killed in the collision were black it's reasonable to state that racially charged statements and assessments would have muddled this cased. They were not, which provides an opportunity to engage without the veil of race.
If the teen had been poor, would he have served jail time? Could a public defender argue the parents never set limits, and let him do whatever he wanted because they were busy working long hours, so how could he know how to act?
Large banks and insurance companies, and the executives that control them just happen to be wealthy. In 2008, the U.S. Treasury and the Federal Reserve bailed out numerous large banks and insurance companies. Congress at the request of President George W. Bush, Vice President Richard B. Cheney, and the famous down on one knee plea of Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson, passed the Troubled Asset Relief Program also known as "TARP." The defense: affluenza, there was little regulation, so how could the bankers and insurance executives know how to act?
The justice system has yet to award prison sentences to any large bank or insurance company executive involved in creating the financial crisis. Corruption? Maybe, but no evidence has been found, and affluenza, according to the Advanced English Dictionary means, a feeling of dissatisfaction, anxiety etc, causes by the dogged pursuit of more. Really?
There are people who just happen to be classified as poor, working, and middle class but when it comes to providing assistance or leniency:
Proposing to cut 39 billion in SNAP (food stamps) benefits, and not extending unemployment benefits for 1.3 million during --- by all accounts --- a sluggish recovery (bang).
Declining ACA Medicare Expansion to the poor in some states (bang).
Cuts to military veteran retirement benefits (bang, bang).
Allowing the payroll tax cut on the middle and working class to expire with no fuss, but fiercely fighting to keep tax cuts for top earners, some wanted to make them permanent (kaboom).
If I were to define the ridiculous diagnosis of affluenza, I would say its a condition were the well off and wealthy are viewed as deserving of aid, perks, and benefits while the middle, working, and poor are seen as lazy, irresponsible, and undeserving.
It's obvious wealth influenced the teens trial, and wealth influences our politicians. Could wealth and our dogged pursuit of more be influencing us. A recent discussion about government spending and future prospects for the U.S. between myself and a friend – both working class – highlights affluenza's potential influence. He engaged me on the premise that money spent on social programs is wrecking the country financially. However, he rejected any harm was being done by corporate subsides, or that tax rates are historically low, or all time low average worker wages have somehow produced all time high corporate profits, or the huge income disparity that exits between the top 1% and the rest of us. To me it appeared he held the view shared prosperity is a myth, and people in need of assistance were lazy, or irresponsible. At one point he cited the “Unabashed Surfer Receiving Food Stamps to Buy Sushi and Avoid Work” story reported by Fox News as evidence. I countered but he failed to accept that some bank executives abused TARP. To be clear, my friend is one person, but he is not alone. To the point, abuse of any program aimed to provide temporary assistance is going to happen, the goal is to minimize abuse. Nevertheless, the focus in day-to-day conversation and news coverage seems centered on people being undeserving of aid, higher wages (minimum wage increase—forget-about-it), or leniency unless you're a part of the wealthy class. We can change that, but first we have to diagnosis the illness.
Does the country have affluenza?
It's shameful, but one bad decision by a judge does not mean the system is broken. However, this decision highlights the imperfection of the justice system, and the inequality that is brewing within our country.
If the four individuals killed in the collision were black it's reasonable to state that racially charged statements and assessments would have muddled this cased. They were not, which provides an opportunity to engage without the veil of race.
If the teen had been poor, would he have served jail time? Could a public defender argue the parents never set limits, and let him do whatever he wanted because they were busy working long hours, so how could he know how to act?
Large banks and insurance companies, and the executives that control them just happen to be wealthy. In 2008, the U.S. Treasury and the Federal Reserve bailed out numerous large banks and insurance companies. Congress at the request of President George W. Bush, Vice President Richard B. Cheney, and the famous down on one knee plea of Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson, passed the Troubled Asset Relief Program also known as "TARP." The defense: affluenza, there was little regulation, so how could the bankers and insurance executives know how to act?
The justice system has yet to award prison sentences to any large bank or insurance company executive involved in creating the financial crisis. Corruption? Maybe, but no evidence has been found, and affluenza, according to the Advanced English Dictionary means, a feeling of dissatisfaction, anxiety etc, causes by the dogged pursuit of more. Really?
There are people who just happen to be classified as poor, working, and middle class but when it comes to providing assistance or leniency:
Proposing to cut 39 billion in SNAP (food stamps) benefits, and not extending unemployment benefits for 1.3 million during --- by all accounts --- a sluggish recovery (bang).
Declining ACA Medicare Expansion to the poor in some states (bang).
Cuts to military veteran retirement benefits (bang, bang).
Allowing the payroll tax cut on the middle and working class to expire with no fuss, but fiercely fighting to keep tax cuts for top earners, some wanted to make them permanent (kaboom).
If I were to define the ridiculous diagnosis of affluenza, I would say its a condition were the well off and wealthy are viewed as deserving of aid, perks, and benefits while the middle, working, and poor are seen as lazy, irresponsible, and undeserving.
It's obvious wealth influenced the teens trial, and wealth influences our politicians. Could wealth and our dogged pursuit of more be influencing us. A recent discussion about government spending and future prospects for the U.S. between myself and a friend – both working class – highlights affluenza's potential influence. He engaged me on the premise that money spent on social programs is wrecking the country financially. However, he rejected any harm was being done by corporate subsides, or that tax rates are historically low, or all time low average worker wages have somehow produced all time high corporate profits, or the huge income disparity that exits between the top 1% and the rest of us. To me it appeared he held the view shared prosperity is a myth, and people in need of assistance were lazy, or irresponsible. At one point he cited the “Unabashed Surfer Receiving Food Stamps to Buy Sushi and Avoid Work” story reported by Fox News as evidence. I countered but he failed to accept that some bank executives abused TARP. To be clear, my friend is one person, but he is not alone. To the point, abuse of any program aimed to provide temporary assistance is going to happen, the goal is to minimize abuse. Nevertheless, the focus in day-to-day conversation and news coverage seems centered on people being undeserving of aid, higher wages (minimum wage increase—forget-about-it), or leniency unless you're a part of the wealthy class. We can change that, but first we have to diagnosis the illness.
Does the country have affluenza?
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Just before I finished this blog, I came across “Why Talking About Employee Poverty Makes Us Uncomfortable” by HBR. The article provides further evidence that view my friend has is shared by many:
Just before I finished this blog, I came across “Why Talking About Employee Poverty Makes Us Uncomfortable” by HBR. The article provides further evidence that view my friend has is shared by many:
One camp simply denied that low-wage workers and their families are truly in need, typically based on heroic assumptions about how little it actually costs to live. Whether or not we personally believe these workers are poor enough to merit attention, however, the U.S. government has determined that the roughly 10 million working poor are paid too little to make it without government help.
A similar assertion was that the working poor are there by choice…The HBR piece is an interesting quick read. I wonder why to do so many see the fellow man as wanting a handout, versus wanting an opportunity to earn a living.
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