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The Punchline That Isn’t Funny
BlackRock will probably win this lawsuit. Or settle for millions. Either way, they’ll extract value from a system designed to extract life from patients.
They’re not just suing UnitedHealth — they’re suing the very idea that health insurance should provide health insurance. They’re fighting for their constitutional right to profit when people die and lose money when people live.
Welcome to American healthcare, where caring too much is a lawsuit waiting to happen.
Dear Sweet Mother of God, this article does not hold back on the biting truth.
It’s a worthwhile read with only one small mistake contained within:
Luigi Mangione didn’t just kill a CEO
There is no reliable evidence to suggest Mr. Mangione killed anyone. And I, for one, remain convinced he did not do that deed.
Hope Mangione is found innocent and he suits the shit out off all the media companies that declared guilty without any proof.
I’m fully convinced that if it ever starts looking like he might legitimately walk, he’ll be Epstein’d. They want to keep that option for last resorts only because they understand the optics behind it, but I’m sure it’s not completely off the table.
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In any case, if he is not convicted and walks free then the people will know that the actual shooter was never caught and that there were no consequences for his action. The only thing they can truly do is prolong this case for as long as is necessary so that the people can never be 100% sure that they didn’t catch the actual shooter, or so they forget this all ever happened at all.
But he has become a symbol greater than himself.
To wit:
You can’t kill an idea
I’m pretty sure a piano fell on that guy.
It’s worth noting that this is a blog post, and not reporting from an accountable journalistic agency.
I don’t see anything obviously incorrect, but it’s worth noting the source.
Hello my American friends, as an observer from outside, it looks to me like you all need some of that “democracy” you’ve been bombing across the world for decades.
More than half of us agree with you but overcoming the inertia necessary to change our current condition of minority-majority rule is apparently going to take some kind of political (if not literal*) bomb.
*Not advocating violence, just feeling hopeless about the likelihood that we meaningfully change things at this point through anything short of an actual revolution.
It’s very difficult to use logic and try to reason with hatred. Majority of people genuinely want to settle disputes peacefully but it’s getting harder and harder to deny that’s simply not going to work against a minority of loud, angry and ignorant people cheering on a demagogue.
Historically, it has been violent unfortunately, and I don’t see that changing in this situation. Just hoping the violence is aimed at the right people soon before more innocent people die.
I agree that your entire political system needs a massive overhaul. Far too many lobby groups are spending stupid money to make money, leaving the majority of Americans voices when voting redundant. I wish you luck but I can’t see an easy way out of this for you.
🙃 weeeeee
Sounds like they’re admitting the CEO murder brought about a good change. We should do it more often 🙂
Sounds like we have a great candidate
So BR CEO next?
You know what would be really funny?
I fink I do !
damn that’s cryptic
damn I suck at this. A common chaffinch perched on a twig. I got nothing 😖
Will nobody rid me of this meddlesome BlackRock CEO?
Sounds like the black rock ceo needs a visit by the Mario bros.
Hooray for laws that make it your legal responsibility to maximise profits for shareholders! Those are doing such amazing things for the overall public good!
/s just in case
send more blue shells
I hope these people have the day they deserve
They’ll all probably get away with everything while also giving themselves more money due to Trump’s regime. They’ll all live to ripe old ages supported by profits that could’ve benefitted everyone, if they don’t cure aging for themselves before then to become absolute, not that their shitty nepo kids wouldn’t just replace them.
2 of the worst companies out there fighting, get the popcorn ready
As much as people harp on blackrock and vanguard they hold a ton of people’s retirement funds.
This is a vicious thing to do of course but they are protecting a lot of people’s nest egg.
Oh please. That doesn’t make the math any more forgivable. Every investor made a choice. The fact that it’s an institutional investor and mutual funds doesn’t sever the provider of the money and their demand for returns from the ethical issues of what the companies are doing.
Don’t fail to hold equity investors like this to account because they’re holding grandma’s retirement hostage. That’s on grandma too.
This is a vicious thing to do
If you get into the weeds, the issue isn’t that UHC updated their coverage policies and practices. It is that they did so without notifying shareholders first.
Incidentally, one upshot of this lawsuit will be a long period of discovery during which UHC will attempt to prove it is fulfilling its fiduciary duty by showing off how many cruel and nefarious methods it uses to fuck over its clients. So, while you might shit on Blackrock for “viciously” exposing UHC’s internal practices to the light of day, I’ve gotta say that I am seeing nothing but positive outcomes as a result.
Wait. What’s the deal with vanguard? I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone harp on them
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Apparently Larry Fink runs the American Investment Firm known as BlackRock. Why do you ask? Are you going to write him a letter? In that case according to the article there’s some relevant information about where to send it
“In 2004, they bought Finch Farm in North Salem, New York from the actor Stanley Tucci for $3.7 million and have since bought seven more parcels of land there, including one from Maurice Sendak and 27 acres from the town’s deputy supervisor Peter Kamenstein in 2019 for $5.4 million.[47] They also have an apartment on the Upper East Side of Manhattan and a house in Aspen, Colorado.[3]”
If you’re worried about him being on the opposite side of political issues then don’t you worry because Larry “Fink is a lifelong supporter of the Democratic Party.”
I hope that helps you with your message! Good Luck.
I somehow doubt he was a Democrat. There are articles claiming he just split campaign contributions in half.
Reminder that capitalism is a system where companies cannot afford to consistently do the right thing. Therefore Capitalism must be abolished entirely.
My greatest wish is the fall of the dollar for exactly this reason. This is the result I want. I want capitalism to collapse. Worldwide. And it will sooner or later. But I’d prefer sooner. Capitalism cannot survive. Infinite growth + finite resources = inevitable collapse. Dependence on the US Dollar is how this all got as bad as it has. We were the snake oil salesman selling capitalism to the world. With extreme prejudice where deemed necessary.
I’m 100% sure I won’t survive that crash. But if the human race is to survive. Capitalism has to end. Or at least be wrestled into submission. We can’t flee to space. We can’t farm the asteroid belt for resources. We’re a couple years from AGI. Climate change is happening live. We see it every single day. As of right now we don’t have a future. End of this century maybe. Maybe.
That’s a thing you can sue for?
Yes, shareholders in the US have rights to sue when their investments don’t return profits as promised.
This is one of the biggest drivers of corporate greed in the US.
Investments are supposed to be a gamble. Imagine losing at the casino and then suing the casino because you didn’t get the advertised jackpot.
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This is unfortunately true, they’ll likely win the case on that angle.
My point is that legislation shouldn’t guarantee earnings from gambling under unforeseen circumstances. That’s just gambling.
Seriously, how many times have I heard the argument that CEOs should be making “the big bucks” because they’re taking on “the big risks”? Yet except for Brian Thompson, I can’t think of any CEOs who’ve ever actually incurred risks from their “gambles.” They always seem to make cuts to everyone and everything else before accepting a loss, or else jump ship with a golden parachute (and probably go on to fuck up a different company afterwards.) Of course, I can’t deny the possibility that CEOs who fail don’t make the news, and this is just survivorship bias (no pun intended.)
The CEOs aren’t making any risks at all, it’s the shareholders taking risks. The unfairness comes in when the government protects them from their own risk while leaving the poor out to rot.
This isn’t about a failed bet. It’s about investors not being informed of the changes.
It’s closer to having the odds and rules explained, then having the casino change both retroactively after they’ve taken your money.
That’s the problem with our entire system!
And this is why Health and Justice shouldn’t be for profit
You can sue for everything. If you win is another question.
Good old BlackRock making the world a terrible place.
Seems that we have a very clear cause and effect pathway now, though, and blackrock has offered a solution.
Mario-san? HAAIII! Nani ga sugi? CEO no rieki yori mo anata!!
I’m not got to name names, but I really hope certain people cease to exist because that would be hilarious.
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