The Response to the Targeted Murder of a Health Insurance CEO Reveals America's Increased Contempt For The Rich

The tragic, brutal murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson has elicited contempt for the unfettered greed and capitalism of health insurance companies. Will the rich wake up and pay attention?

The brazen, targeted murder of UnitedHealth Group’s CEO Brian Thompson in New York City ahead of an investor conference is largely being met with contempt, indifference, and gallows humor by Americans who have been increasingly screwed by billionaires and corporate interests that profit from their pain and suffering.

That’s my current read on this shocking and tragic story which is still evolving as law enforcement searches for the motive and engages in a city-wide manhunt for the masked killer. The fact there are so many morbid jokes around the murder of Brian Thompson reveals the level of contempt people have toward the greed of CEOs, insurance companies, and healthcare profiteers. This is nothing new as there’s a history of correlation between income inequality and violence. It’s something that absurdly rich people - both within the Democratic and Republican establishment - should pay attention to, but won't, because why mess up a good grift?

Just look at several of the snarky comments and posts that are appearing all over social media. Here’s a sample:

There’s also a disturbing numbness over yet another public shooting in a country that has more guns than people and seems oblivious to enacting massive gun reform even as children are routinely massacred in school shootings due to unhinged people with access to assault rifles. As the rich get richer, the poor get poorer, and income inequality widens, are people shocked if indeed we discover that a disgruntled American denied health coverage exacted revenge against a person he deems to be the architect of his misery?

Please note I’m in no way excusing this murder, and again we’re still awaiting further details. It is harrowing for Brian Thompson’s family, loved ones, and friends. The reality remains that for the past 40 years due to unfettered capitalist greed, Americans have been destroying themselves to increase their work efficiency, helping companies achieve record profits, leaving vacation days on the table, and all they have to show for it is more debt and stagnant wages. The “establishment” and our private and public institutions are increasingly viewed as corrupt vessels created by the elite and for the elite while being presented as hallowed, unassailable cornerstones of a vibrant democracy that appeals to “the marketplace of ideas.”

I’ve always wondered how a society that is addicted to guns will eventually respond to the reality that the billionaire class, which includes Elon Musk and MAGA donors, continues to pillage our resources, our pensions, and our social benefits. Donald Trump and MAGA represent his donor class that has used and abused divisive and racist culture wars to ascend to the White House and government where they enact tax cuts and de-regulation policies that will continue only to help the 1%. Republicans have also promised to destroy Obamacare, which many MAGA voters are slowly realizing is the same as the Affordable Care Act which they support, and replace it with a “concept of a plan.” They want to defund Medicare and Social Security and privatize everything as a means of funding their tax cuts and lining their own pockets. Meanwhile, the rest of the world remains confused as to how the most powerful and wealthy country in the world can continue funding the military-industrial complex but refuses to give its citizens paid parental leave, affordable health, and subsidized higher education.

According to KFF, health care costs and unexpected medical bills “rank as the top financial worries for adults and their families, and recent polling shows that lowering out-of-pocket health care costs is by and large the public’s top health care priority.” The Commonwealth Fund reports that more than two of five working-age adults report being charged for a health service they thought was free or covered by insurance. One-third of working-age adults report they are burdened by medical or dental debt, and high deductibles and copayments are causing two of five working-age adults to delay visiting their doctor or filling out their prescriptions in the most powerful country on Earth. This is a national sickness caused by greed, nothing more, and nothing less, and yet it persists because the system is broken and average Americans are exhausted, distracted, and misinformed.

One would think that this tragic murder of a health insurance company CEO might make the wealthy pause for a moment and reflect. After all, you need to live to make more money. Unfortunately, it will only make them grow more belligerent, paranoid, and cruel. They’ll probably continue with business as usual and hire private military firms as security for their own families. Trump will go through with his promise to unleash the military and national guard against individuals he deems as “the enemy from within.” Recall he wanted to shoot unarmed, peaceful BLM protestors, but Mark Esper and others kept him at bay. Well, those guardrails are now gone as Trump has the White House again and employs a steady stream of Reeks who are willing to do his and Musk’s bidding.

To quote Mel Brooks, “It’s good to be the king.” But in a divided, misinformed country with massive inequality and millions of guns, maybe the king has to now sleep in a heavily guarded, secluded residence with a bulletproof vest and one eye open.