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?
Today Task & Purpose ran an article by Jeff Schogol about the upcoming proposed changes to veteran’s benefits, including healthcare and disability compensation. Basically, trump, project 2025 and MAGA want to take away VA healthcare and throw veterans into privatization - into the civilian healthcare world.
They also intend to drastically decrease our disability compensation payments because, to them (just as was attempted in 2016) we veterans ‘don’t need & didn’t really earn the compensation ‘we were awarded after fighting for the VA to recognize our losses and sacrifices.
The fight is absolutely coming and this time they won’t back down. How many of us will end up quickly losing our homes due to no income? How many will lose their health and then life due to reduced or no healthcare?
Am I scared? Absolutely. I served honorably for ten years and was badly injured in several ways, ways that permanently damaged the rest of my life. My compensation is how I live, eat, have shelter. They will take what I and all my fellow veterans earned and keep it for themselves. That is their goal.
How do we fight this? My Congressional reps are all fully onboard with trump and Project 2025, including Todd Young who served. I guess he doesn’t care about the rest of us as long as he gets his piece of the loot.
I wonder how many veterans voted for the destruction of their income, health and lives?
I am so sorry. It's almost insumountable isn't it? I am a Canadian and a healthcare provider, and to see the fundamental human rights of people so thoroughly violated in a country as "privileged" "rich" and "advanced" as the US is beyond comprehension, infuriating, and grossly unfair.
Do you have a link to the article you reference on the VA benefits? I’d like to use it in my attempt to rescue my brainwashed husband. I really hope none of that comes to pass, but losing his benefits may be the most plausible scenario that will fully yank the veil from his eyes.
I don’t but if you search for TaskandPurpose.com you’ll find the website and the article.
If you look up Project 2025 the pertinent chapters are Dept of Defense- Chapter 4, page 91 and Dept of Veterans Affairs-Chapter 20, page 641.
Jeff Schogol was responding to an article in The Economist that argues veterans are way overpaid. I believe The Economist uses a paywall.
People who are brainwashed will insist the above is all made up Dept State lies. I’ve had a bit of success reaching through that fog by staying as calm as possible, not initially using the words cult or brainwash and asking the person to do the research to refute the above evidence and to show actual proof of their beliefs. I ask them “if you are this sure of your beliefs then please provide proof from 3 different news sites, no right or left sites allowed”. It can’t be done.
But, you are correct - for many veterans who are all in on trump the only way they will face reality is when they lose their benefits.
It will be interesting to see. That is, if I’m not homeless and can actually pay attention to the cultist’s reactions to losing everything.
I will be homeless once my disability compensation is taken. We have no social programs to help out when that happens. Plus, I just had major spine surgery to finally fix injuries from my service and there’s no way I can work, even part-time for 18 months. I might be able to sell everything and live in my car - except I live where winters are very cold and I won’t last long living in a car due to that and I simply cannot sit or sleep in a car during my spine recovery.
I feel that those who willingly voted for him, who didn’t bother to research the very things trump said he would do, will absolutely deserve what happens to them. But, thanks to the millions who didn’t vote, we will all pay for the cult’s delusions. It’s incredibly stressful and downright scary.
Your story is an important one -- I'm hoping that someone who is or knows an investigative journalist may put that journalist in touch with you. It's the actual stories of people that seem to move at least some. This sounds like something ProPublica would cover.
We tried to tell them. I have a family full of veterans. One active duty who voted for Trump. He has a stay at home wife with 5 children. He intends to be out in 6 years to collect a full officer’s pension and begin his career in the private sector. Good chance if he’s lucky enough that the government doesn’t renege completely on their contract with him, it’ll be less than half of what he’s counting on. He voted for it.
Your words bring tears. This level of suffering after honorable service. I cannot believe this is my country who is treating so many people, including veterans who have written a blank check with their lives to support this country, this inhumane.
And so many disabled veterans and their families are young. They have a lifetime ahead of them. I hope that we can stop Trump and his lackeys once and for all, in the mid term elections.
I'm so sorry for what you've been through. It is horrible that in the richest country in the world, this is how we treat our veterans who have sacrificed so much. It's unconscionable. I depend on Social Security and Medicare (have several chronic health conditions - I'm not a veteran) and I'm scared. My heart goes out to you and prays for your safety, security and continued care.
I know your fear. Mine is the same, just different reasons. I’m sorry for what you are going through. If you have things that help you cope with it, use them (skills, activities, pets, supportive people - whatever helps). For me I find keeping my life, and spine recovery, on as much of a daily routine as possible helps a good deal. I’m active in telling my Congressional reps what I support and don’t - even if it doesn’t matter to them doing so helps me. I try to plan for the what ifs. After all that all I can do is wait.
Thank you for your kind words. Yes - routine is vital. As is staying as active as I can in politics -- in whatever way fits at the time (which of course varies!). Take care!
If many didn’t know that the ACA was also known as “Obamacare”, then it tells me something about their ability to think critically. These are the persons who will follow Trump over a cliff without realizing that he has a parachute and they have nothing to stop them from crashing onto the rocks below.
This also tells us about the level of misinformation and disinformation that the Right has permeated our media with - print, digital, social, etc. Millionaires and Billionaires on the Left really need to get their shit together and build an infrastructure to compete against the propaganda and lies. Michael Tomasky wrote a good article about this in the New Republic.
Doubtful, the ultra-rich, especially the right wing libertarians and right wing nuts, will not do anything except try to turn people against each other, if and when people do finally have enough of them and target the right wing nuts, maybe then this country can finally get on the path of recovery and evolution.
While not knowing the motive in this crime, it does lead to interpretations of revenge. And revenge seeking has certainly been a big topic in the news lately.
It's true - most people find it easy to understand an angry person shooting someone they feel is responsible for their pain. After all, "owning the libs" and political power plays are strictly about what one group can do to another, compromise or the feelings of others be damned.
I thought long about the comment. Probably not appropriate, but I've had it with the oligarchs destroying this country. The man made profit decisions that resulted in deaths. He may not have gotten due process, but neither did I when I was paying $2300 a month for insurance with a $5500 deductible.
And while I've got you, I really, really like your writing style and your takes.
Yes, I was stuck on that runaway train, once, what a fkn. Nightmare! While the rest of the world has free health care, without the bloodsuckers in the middle!
We swing back and forth in our fears of armed right wing militias and insurrectionists and armed lone avengers and lunatics. And it doesn't help that folks have lost confidence in seeing any kind of justice meted out by our prosecutors and courts. Lady Justice is really just winking behind that blindfold.
People forget how greed can bring down a goverment or empire. We think we are more advanced than that fundamentally we are not If I was the current top billionaires I would be very careful. This shows they know where you are and what you’re doing. We don’t want cake I feel really sad for everyone involved his coworkers said he was a very nice man.
Given his career choice and advancement at UHC, he can't have been a truly nice man. He has to have been driven by greed and self-interest. Has to have.
Now, I’m not justifying this CEO’s killing. But I’ve also seen corporate life in all its “glory”. I promise you, that you give up more and more of your soul as you rise to the top. It becomes a game of survival. You forget about the humanity of your employees and customers to keep that position.
I’ve seen it way too often. Those who don’t have the stomach for that practice don’t last long.
It’s not just MAGA. Congress is chock full of Corporate Democrats, starting with Biden and Pelosi.
Plus, in our society people think that having money automatically makes a person intelligent and worthy of worship. This attitude had significantly warped our society and allowed the filthy rich, the 1%, to get away with not paying taxes, not contributing to the construction and maintenance of society that benefits every single one of us.
A just society would not allow billionaires. A just society would focus on improving society to equally benefit every member - shelter, healthcare, adequate income, education and employment opportunities, to name a few of the basics we all need.
There were VERY FEW billionaires in America, before Reagan. America was created for the People, to get away from the rule of filthy rich Kings! Reagan destroyed what America was meant to be! And Trump is the Nuclear bomb, will completely destroy America! Fini…
Nothing wrong with wealth if earned honestly. The truth is that workers are exploited in the name of profit. I’m against the large disparity in earnings and welfare of the haves and have nots in our country. We have few safety nets; Trump and his kind are inclined to gut those that exist. Think of veterans, the poor, the elderly, and disabled. Most of us are one healthcare crisis away from bankruptcy. No wonder people are angry!
Nevertheless, I’m curious about the killer’s motive.
Agree. But if you're getting rich on the backs of a capitalistic society you are obligated to contribute to sustaining that society that has enabled your wealth. But I totally agree that if people have been fortunate enough to build wealth then we shouldn't be taking it all away from them but there's a balance that needs to be reached. And that's not even bringing in any argument of one's moral responsibility to their fellow citizens!
I'm fascinated by the response to the targeted murder, which is what this piece is mostly about and also the current realities of a divided, exhausted America where income inequality is surging.
Today Task & Purpose ran an article by Jeff Schogol about the upcoming proposed changes to veteran’s benefits, including healthcare and disability compensation. Basically, trump, project 2025 and MAGA want to take away VA healthcare and throw veterans into privatization - into the civilian healthcare world.
They also intend to drastically decrease our disability compensation payments because, to them (just as was attempted in 2016) we veterans ‘don’t need & didn’t really earn the compensation ‘we were awarded after fighting for the VA to recognize our losses and sacrifices.
The fight is absolutely coming and this time they won’t back down. How many of us will end up quickly losing our homes due to no income? How many will lose their health and then life due to reduced or no healthcare?
Am I scared? Absolutely. I served honorably for ten years and was badly injured in several ways, ways that permanently damaged the rest of my life. My compensation is how I live, eat, have shelter. They will take what I and all my fellow veterans earned and keep it for themselves. That is their goal.
How do we fight this? My Congressional reps are all fully onboard with trump and Project 2025, including Todd Young who served. I guess he doesn’t care about the rest of us as long as he gets his piece of the loot.
I wonder how many veterans voted for the destruction of their income, health and lives?
I am so sorry. It's almost insumountable isn't it? I am a Canadian and a healthcare provider, and to see the fundamental human rights of people so thoroughly violated in a country as "privileged" "rich" and "advanced" as the US is beyond comprehension, infuriating, and grossly unfair.
Thank you. You are quite correct in your assessment of my country.
Do you have a link to the article you reference on the VA benefits? I’d like to use it in my attempt to rescue my brainwashed husband. I really hope none of that comes to pass, but losing his benefits may be the most plausible scenario that will fully yank the veil from his eyes.
I don’t but if you search for TaskandPurpose.com you’ll find the website and the article.
If you look up Project 2025 the pertinent chapters are Dept of Defense- Chapter 4, page 91 and Dept of Veterans Affairs-Chapter 20, page 641.
Jeff Schogol was responding to an article in The Economist that argues veterans are way overpaid. I believe The Economist uses a paywall.
People who are brainwashed will insist the above is all made up Dept State lies. I’ve had a bit of success reaching through that fog by staying as calm as possible, not initially using the words cult or brainwash and asking the person to do the research to refute the above evidence and to show actual proof of their beliefs. I ask them “if you are this sure of your beliefs then please provide proof from 3 different news sites, no right or left sites allowed”. It can’t be done.
But, you are correct - for many veterans who are all in on trump the only way they will face reality is when they lose their benefits.
Good luck & I wish you well.
What a great approach -- you are more likely to reach someone who is reachable. For those who aren't - there's nothing we can do.
I found the article --
https://taskandpurpose.com/culture/veterans-economist-vfw-rebuttal/
I hope this is the right one.
Thank you so much!
Thank you!
My word! Lots of military and veterans voted for Trump. Whatever will they think now that his policies will affect their finances?
It will be interesting to see. That is, if I’m not homeless and can actually pay attention to the cultist’s reactions to losing everything.
I will be homeless once my disability compensation is taken. We have no social programs to help out when that happens. Plus, I just had major spine surgery to finally fix injuries from my service and there’s no way I can work, even part-time for 18 months. I might be able to sell everything and live in my car - except I live where winters are very cold and I won’t last long living in a car due to that and I simply cannot sit or sleep in a car during my spine recovery.
I feel that those who willingly voted for him, who didn’t bother to research the very things trump said he would do, will absolutely deserve what happens to them. But, thanks to the millions who didn’t vote, we will all pay for the cult’s delusions. It’s incredibly stressful and downright scary.
Your story is an important one -- I'm hoping that someone who is or knows an investigative journalist may put that journalist in touch with you. It's the actual stories of people that seem to move at least some. This sounds like something ProPublica would cover.
We tried to tell them. I have a family full of veterans. One active duty who voted for Trump. He has a stay at home wife with 5 children. He intends to be out in 6 years to collect a full officer’s pension and begin his career in the private sector. Good chance if he’s lucky enough that the government doesn’t renege completely on their contract with him, it’ll be less than half of what he’s counting on. He voted for it.
Your words bring tears. This level of suffering after honorable service. I cannot believe this is my country who is treating so many people, including veterans who have written a blank check with their lives to support this country, this inhumane.
I deeply appreciate what you have said here. Thank you.
And so many disabled veterans and their families are young. They have a lifetime ahead of them. I hope that we can stop Trump and his lackeys once and for all, in the mid term elections.
I'm so sorry for what you've been through. It is horrible that in the richest country in the world, this is how we treat our veterans who have sacrificed so much. It's unconscionable. I depend on Social Security and Medicare (have several chronic health conditions - I'm not a veteran) and I'm scared. My heart goes out to you and prays for your safety, security and continued care.
I know your fear. Mine is the same, just different reasons. I’m sorry for what you are going through. If you have things that help you cope with it, use them (skills, activities, pets, supportive people - whatever helps). For me I find keeping my life, and spine recovery, on as much of a daily routine as possible helps a good deal. I’m active in telling my Congressional reps what I support and don’t - even if it doesn’t matter to them doing so helps me. I try to plan for the what ifs. After all that all I can do is wait.
My best to you.
Thank you for your kind words. Yes - routine is vital. As is staying as active as I can in politics -- in whatever way fits at the time (which of course varies!). Take care!
Trump will DESTROY! US, and America! Unless we can STOP this absolute INSANITY!
So these same resentful people elect an indicted, billionaire criminal who spits in their faces everyday! Makes perfect sense to me.
If many didn’t know that the ACA was also known as “Obamacare”, then it tells me something about their ability to think critically. These are the persons who will follow Trump over a cliff without realizing that he has a parachute and they have nothing to stop them from crashing onto the rocks below.
This also tells us about the level of misinformation and disinformation that the Right has permeated our media with - print, digital, social, etc. Millionaires and Billionaires on the Left really need to get their shit together and build an infrastructure to compete against the propaganda and lies. Michael Tomasky wrote a good article about this in the New Republic.
This reminds me of something🤔 viva la France.
I don’t condone violence, but insurance companies are f-ing around and finding out.
I wish them the Very WORST! Of what they deserve, and to Rot in Hell!
Those Ceo’s are Evil Scum. Reagan sold US all out! To them, to enrich himself.
One point I disagree on… the system isn’t broken, it’s functioning exactly as designed
A system by the rich for the rich.
The saying “Eat the Rich” now includes “if we eat just one” they might all behave.
But once you pop, you can’t stop!
Doubtful, the ultra-rich, especially the right wing libertarians and right wing nuts, will not do anything except try to turn people against each other, if and when people do finally have enough of them and target the right wing nuts, maybe then this country can finally get on the path of recovery and evolution.
While not knowing the motive in this crime, it does lead to interpretations of revenge. And revenge seeking has certainly been a big topic in the news lately.
It's true - most people find it easy to understand an angry person shooting someone they feel is responsible for their pain. After all, "owning the libs" and political power plays are strictly about what one group can do to another, compromise or the feelings of others be damned.
Plus, guns.
Please note: I’m excusing this murder.
Damn!
I thought long about the comment. Probably not appropriate, but I've had it with the oligarchs destroying this country. The man made profit decisions that resulted in deaths. He may not have gotten due process, but neither did I when I was paying $2300 a month for insurance with a $5500 deductible.
And while I've got you, I really, really like your writing style and your takes.
Yes, I was stuck on that runaway train, once, what a fkn. Nightmare! While the rest of the world has free health care, without the bloodsuckers in the middle!
“If you want to know what God thinks about money, just look at the people He gives it to.”
Dorothy Parker
We swing back and forth in our fears of armed right wing militias and insurrectionists and armed lone avengers and lunatics. And it doesn't help that folks have lost confidence in seeing any kind of justice meted out by our prosecutors and courts. Lady Justice is really just winking behind that blindfold.
Great article today,Waj, Thank You for reporting on another Gun Death, And will reStack ASAP 🙏💯👍
I said the same thing.
People forget how greed can bring down a goverment or empire. We think we are more advanced than that fundamentally we are not If I was the current top billionaires I would be very careful. This shows they know where you are and what you’re doing. We don’t want cake I feel really sad for everyone involved his coworkers said he was a very nice man.
Given his career choice and advancement at UHC, he can't have been a truly nice man. He has to have been driven by greed and self-interest. Has to have.
Now, I’m not justifying this CEO’s killing. But I’ve also seen corporate life in all its “glory”. I promise you, that you give up more and more of your soul as you rise to the top. It becomes a game of survival. You forget about the humanity of your employees and customers to keep that position.
I’ve seen it way too often. Those who don’t have the stomach for that practice don’t last long.
The man had a wife and 2 children. Too soon! Also MAGA masses seem to be enthralled with the massively rich!
It’s not just MAGA. Congress is chock full of Corporate Democrats, starting with Biden and Pelosi.
Plus, in our society people think that having money automatically makes a person intelligent and worthy of worship. This attitude had significantly warped our society and allowed the filthy rich, the 1%, to get away with not paying taxes, not contributing to the construction and maintenance of society that benefits every single one of us.
A just society would not allow billionaires. A just society would focus on improving society to equally benefit every member - shelter, healthcare, adequate income, education and employment opportunities, to name a few of the basics we all need.
This disgusting worship of the rich has to stop.
Amen. And how has the myth of trickle down economics persisted for so long?
I’m not well versed in economics so don’t have a good answer. I wonder this myself.
Stupid Fox watchers..
There were VERY FEW billionaires in America, before Reagan. America was created for the People, to get away from the rule of filthy rich Kings! Reagan destroyed what America was meant to be! And Trump is the Nuclear bomb, will completely destroy America! Fini…
Nothing wrong with wealth if earned honestly. The truth is that workers are exploited in the name of profit. I’m against the large disparity in earnings and welfare of the haves and have nots in our country. We have few safety nets; Trump and his kind are inclined to gut those that exist. Think of veterans, the poor, the elderly, and disabled. Most of us are one healthcare crisis away from bankruptcy. No wonder people are angry!
Nevertheless, I’m curious about the killer’s motive.
Agree. But if you're getting rich on the backs of a capitalistic society you are obligated to contribute to sustaining that society that has enabled your wealth. But I totally agree that if people have been fortunate enough to build wealth then we shouldn't be taking it all away from them but there's a balance that needs to be reached. And that's not even bringing in any argument of one's moral responsibility to their fellow citizens!
🙏
What you say may have no relevance to the shooting despite the truth of it. Truth will out.
I'm fascinated by the response to the targeted murder, which is what this piece is mostly about and also the current realities of a divided, exhausted America where income inequality is surging.
EXACTLY! ⬆️ 🧐