Here's the article, for anyone interested.
It basically boils down to: Brian Thompson grew up in a working class family in Iowa, while Luigi Mangione came from wealth and went to private schools. He compares Mangione to Osama bin Laden, and other "Angry rich kids jacked up on radical, nihilistic philosophies," who "cause a lot of harm, not least to the working-class folks whose interests they pretend to champion."
The author then mentions some polling that says people like their health insurance provider, actually. And then finally he says this:
Thompson’s life may have been cut brutally short, but it will remain a model for how a talented and determined man from humble roots can still rise to the top of corporate life without the benefit of rich parents and an Ivy League degree.
Without a stitch of irony. Thompson may have come from working class roots, but that ain't where he ended up. So if it's ok to become rich, but it's not ok to be born rich, then I guess this author supports a 100% inherence tax? Yeah, somehow I doubt it.
Bret Stephens, the author, is not telling the whole story and using the omissions to spin a story of 'most Americans are happy with the system.' This [expletive] says the below to defend against the united anger at the health insurance industry
As for the suggestion that Thompson’s murder should be an occasion to discuss America’s supposed rage at private health insurers, it’s worth pointing out that a 2023 survey from the nonpartisan health policy research institute KFF found that 81 percent of insured adults gave their health insurance plans a rating of “excellent” or “good.” Even a majority of those who say their health is “fair” or “poor” still broadly like their health insurance. No industry is perfect — nor is any health care model — and insurance companies make terrible calls all the time in the interest of cost savings. But the idea that those companies represent a unique evil in American life is divorced from the experience of most of their customers.
This [expletive] looked at the report's top and only positive point and ignored the rest. The next very next point is
- Despite rating their insurance positively, most insured adults report experiencing problems using their health coverage; people in poorer health are more likely to report problems. A majority of insured adults (58%) say they have experienced a problem using their health insurance in the past 12 months – such as denied claims, provider network problems, and pre-authorization problems.
Here are the other points on the report:
- Nearly half of insured adults who had insurance problems were unable to satisfactorily resolve them, with some reporting serious consequences. Half of consumers with insurance problems say their problem was resolved to their satisfaction.
- Affordability of premiums and out-of-pocket costs are a concern, particularly for those with private health coverage, and for some, contributed to not getting care. About half of adults with Marketplace plans (55%) or ESI (46%) rate their insurance negatively when it comes to premiums, compared to 27% of people with Medicare and 10% of Medicaid enrollees. Four-in-ten insured adults say they skipped or delayed some type of care in the past year due to cost. One in six insured adults (16%), including larger shares of those at lower income levels, say they had problems paying medical bills in the past year.
- Insured adults overwhelmingly support public policies to make insurance simpler to understand and to help them avoid or resolve insurance problems. About nine in ten say they support requirements on insurers to maintain accurate and up-to-date provider directories, provide simpler, easier-to read EOBs, disclose their claims denial rates to regulators and the public, and provide in advance, upon request, information about whether care is covered and their out-of-pocket cost liability.
[Expletive] this disingenuously written story, [expletive] Bret Stephen for not telling the whole story, and [expletive] the New York Times for time after time publishing BS and propaganda that sets us all back.
Angry rich kids jacked up on radical, nihilistic philosophies can cause a lot of harm, not least to the working-class folks whose interests they pretend to champion.
Or angry, greedy rich people jacked up on conservatism.
I was hoping it was going to be a satire OpEd, but nope. Mangione is just a disaffected radical rich kid he compares to Bin Laden and other terrorists who came from well-off families. The writer stops at Thompson’s early normal life and completely disregards the health insurance industry’s problems, which Thompson’s company was a major contributor, claims people are mostly happy with their insurance while the study has no “would you prefer to pay less and get the same service for single-payer care” option. It’s basically “do you like your expensive care you have little/no choice about?”
Dude wrote an anti-populist article to be inflammatory and told people to shut up because they like their insurance overlords.
If both are class traitors than I support the one who didn't betray my class. But also engineers and tech workers are still working class and nowhere near CEO level.
I'm an engineer who went to private schools and came from a family of engineers. Doesn't mean I've never been homeless, doesn't mean my family wasn't financially fucked by health insurance. The middle class aren't ceo level even when we're a shrinking class
The New York Times has been pure shit since the W years when they pushed Iraq war propaganda.
Trump is an evil moron, but he's right about one thing, our media is full of shills and liars.
The crazy part is they are lying and shilling for the right, while being called "leftist", it's a fantastic lie that has been propagated.
This ought to have been apparent 20 years ago. Anybody else remember Judith Miller and her little pas de deux with Dick Cheney, where his office would "leak" phony intelligence about Iraq's WMD program to her, she'd publish it in her New York Times column, and then the Bushies could cite it as evidence? Pepperidge Farm also remembers the non-apology apology the editor published (buried well off the front page) that conspicuously missed anything about not letting the paper be used as a mouthpiece for the state in the future.
The only reason that it ever had a progressive reputation is because the GOP/Tea Party kept shrieking about "liberal media" to move the Overton Window to the far right.
Bret Stevens is, surprise, a sniveling neocon.
He can get fucked.
Right now they have an article for the case against vigilantism. Fucking hell qualified immunity is state based vigilantism.
I noted it in another thread, but this is the tale of two class traitors. These guys are extremely threatened and confused as to why one of the good class traitors (the CEO that went from working class to killing workers for profit) is reviled while the bad class traitor (a rich kid murdering that CEO) is lauded. Obviously from their perspective it should be the opposite.
These dumbfucks are too high on their own self righteousness to see the lasting damage they are causing not only to their own institutions, but the country. Absolutely GLAZING the CEO whilst completely omitting the insider trading charges leveled at him, and ignoring any and all context of UHC’s denial rates whilst pumping ’consumer satisfaction’ surveys as if health insurance is fine and dandy.
When the fourth branch flips over for belly rubs from the state, people see the base corruption and abandon mainstream media - and turn to alternatives. Twitter, Facebook, Telegram, etc where foreign influence propaganda and misinformation has no gatekeepers.
Bret Stephens is a bed bug.
The first step to writing an article like this is to bend your spine backwards until your head is inside your asshole.
LOL it says all it needs to say that this guy felt that this article needed to be written, in order to spin reality into something it's not
Bret Stephens is an absolute clown.
The one time the headline on a Bret Stephens piece convinced me he might not always be insane the first three sentences of the article relieved me of that thought as quickly as it had formed.
I don't think that man is ever in full possession of his faculties.
Stockholm syndrome
It's a Bret Stephens opinion piece. He's the token conservative of the column. He is literally 1 out of 18 other columnists. He doesn't even remotely represent The Times as a whole. This declaration is almost as dumb as Bret...almost.
I mean, it's not a scam, it's just right wing propaganda. The whole "main stream media" deal is just an attempt to pull outlets to the right. They can't argue the facts of climate change or voter fraud or immigration, so instead they appeal to "bias" to push outlets to not challenge them. I'm not saying the Times was ever a progressive bastion but at one point it might have at least been centrist before everyone bought what Fox News was selling.
If you want a more interesting less ragebait take this is probably better:
The Rage and Glee That Followed a C.E.O.’s Killing Should Ring All Alarms https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/06/opinion/united-health-care-ceo-shooting.html?unlocked_article_code=1.hE4.ezbM.fXx90r8IG_iu
I just threw up in my mouth a little.
One capitalist parasite down, plenty more to go.
Jeezus Kristos, this guy is such a sh*tbird.
…When you effortlessly drift to sky-high levels of self-parody….
So when you search for this the top result is r/neoliberal. TIL there's a neoliberal subreddit.
He died for his sins
It sounds like Bret really idolizes that CEO. I hope he guys the same treatment
NYT can blow me.
Progressive.. ly stupid.
"Sheriff of Nottingham real hero. People refusing to pay justified taxes."
Who's bread they eat, who's song they sing, I guess.
Asshole is also a defender of "USA should police the whole world", so he can go fuck himself with pineapple leaves.
Wow, I’m sure the masses disagree with this opinion.
It's hilarious when people post the NYTrash as if it weren't complete imperial garbage.
This Brian Thompson, playing a ruthless cult leader and serial killer, couldn't even compare to the body count on CEO Brian Thompson.
The anthropomorphic personification of NYT would look like an angry version of the monopoly guy
Who’s that?
I don’t think so.
Oh my fucking yuck!
Bret buddy how about you go to bed just go to bed and try again tomorrow
Always has been conservative.
Well I was thinking a teacher. That's how I learned, in mass media class. Thanks Ms. Bailey!
A lot of these media outlets are owned by billionaires. I know for sure, that Bezos owns Washington Post
🤣
Reading about this guy, he sounds like a moron known for saying contrarian bullshit and holding the exact opposite beliefs of what a normal intelligent human would have. And he's rewarded for it.
Edit: nevermind, born rich, established rich kid connections, etc. Nothing to see here.
Lol. Lmao even.
I dunno, listen to Bonespurs whenever the NYT says anything bad about him - then it's a failing liberal rag.
Do you all understand the concept of an op ed? NYT is disappointing often but you all seem to expect perfection
It's like they're trying to outdo Nytimes Pitchbot.
I just had a coughing fit
Test
Bret Stevens is such a treasure
I kinda feel the same way about this as the way I feel about the claim: "Donald Trump is a Nazi".
What's your definition of progressive? Once I understand that, I can decide to agree or disagree with you.
