A 93-year-old Michigan man froze to death inside his home, an autopsy has determined,

[rational thinker]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28858971/

Fair?

[nullvalu]

Wow.. The electric company couldn't have tried to work something out with the poor old man?

[coyote_sprit]

Think his social security could have prevented this if not for inflation?

[ItsTime]

where was his family?

[coyote_sprit]

where was his family?

He had no kids and his wife died before him.

[ItsTime]

He had no kids and his wife died before him.

shitty :(

[asimplegirl]

That's just so sad.

I used to have a friend who worked for the power company. He said that an old man called and said if he didn't have his power he couldn't have some sort of treatment for an illness he had...he was really old, and on oxygen. He told his boss, and he said they let it pass for about three months for extenuating circumstances, but that past that, they have to shut it off.

[socialize_me]

He couldn't get blankets ?

This is exactly what would happen in a free market scenario anyway. You don't pay for something, you won't get it. It's not like electricity is open source and downloadable into every home for free for life..

This is how life works unfortunately.

[sevin]

I'm sure there are charitable organizations that would have helped him if he had asked for help.

[torchbearer]

I'm sure there are charitable organizations that would have helped him if he had asked for help.

Yeah, I think even the bible says.. ask, and ye shall recieve.
don't ask and you will freeze to death.

in hard times.... the nuclear family will become inefficient and the extended family will be needed to survive.
Can't afford a place on your own... join someone else.
Elderly? Get in a home. I know in louisiana.. they at least give you basic comfort until you die.

[ihsv]

Hmmmm.... so could/would the power company be charged with murder?

[socialize_me]

Okay, so when he asks for help, how does he do so? He didn't call after that restrictor was installed and apparently he didn't go outside when it started to get cold in his house.

The fact is, this guy was helpless to take care of himself. If he couldn't go outside for days and if his house became progressively colder, then doesn't that same SOMETHING? His time was up, his clock ran out, it happens to us all. Would you rather he be put in a home against his will and die there in 2 months due to depression, or stay at home willingly and freeze to death? It's a lose-lose scenario either way!

[socialize_me]

Hmmmm.... so could/would the power company be charged with murder?

Would my boss be charged with murder because I stopped showing up to work and he didn't pay me and thus I died because I couldn't buy food? Same concept applies. It's the EXACT same thing.

I stopped showing up for work (the guy stopped paying his bills), the boss fired me and so I don't have income (the company shut off his power and so he didn't have electricity), and I died of hunger (he died of freezing). I died because of lack of money, he died because of lack of money. Same damn thing, yet you would tell me to get off my ass and get a job and wouldn't even THINK of blaming the boss.

[xd9fan]

yet another victim of the state

[werdd]

blankets FTW?

[asimplegirl]

Okay, so when he asks for help, how does he do so? He didn't call after that restrictor was installed and apparently he didn't go outside when it started to get cold in his house.


You can call places after your electricity is cut off. We do it all the time. Power goes out, call the company and tell them. You just can't do it with a cordless.

This is a sad story.

[angelatc]

I think it comes back to the fact that he couldn't take care of himself.

In Indianapolis, they can't shut the utilities off in the winter if you've applied for assistance. It does not matter if you did not qualify or not - if you applied you are good until spring.

After they shut them off it is too late though.

[Matt Collins]

That's why you don't live in Michigan...

[SnappleLlama]

Wow...I'm surprised he didn't ask anyone for help, like a neighbor?

[angelatc]

The socialists will use things like this to pass laws forcing people over the age of 70 into retirement homes.

[ihsv]

Would my boss be charged with murder because I stopped showing up to work and he didn't pay me and thus I died because I couldn't buy food? Same concept applies. It's the EXACT same thing.

I stopped showing up for work (the guy stopped paying his bills), the boss fired me and so I don't have income (the company shut off his power and so he didn't have electricity), and I died of hunger (he died of freezing). I died because of lack of money, he died because of lack of money. Same damn thing, yet you would tell me to get off my ass and get a job and wouldn't even THINK of blaming the boss.

I understand what you're saying, but it seems to me the circumstances are slightly different. Your boss, by firing you, deprived you of the means to acquire the necessities of life. They didn't deprive you of food itself. You can get the means to purchase food elsewhere, and are not dependent upon a monopoly.

In the case in question, the power company deprived the fellow with the electricity necessary to generate heat. His death was the direct result of their decision, particularly since most areas operate under a localized monopoly with regard to power companies.

I'm not advocating forcing power companies to give free energy or anything of the sort, all I'm doing here is exploring people's "take" on this.

[satchelmcqueen]

very sad that electric bills have become like a second house payment or more depending on the situation. i think in a few years we all will be close to what this guy had to go through.

[angelatc]

very sad that electric bills have become like a second house payment or more depending on the situation. i think in a few years we all will be close to what this guy had to go through.

Actually, for us, bills here are a lot cheaper than they were in Chicagoland, even though the house is a lot bigger.

[socialize_me]

I understand what you're saying, but it seems to me the circumstances are slightly different. Your boss, by firing you, deprived you of the means to acquire the necessities of life. They didn't deprive you of food itself. You can get the means to purchase food elsewhere, and are not dependent upon a monopoly.

In the case in question, the power company deprived the fellow with the electricity necessary to generate heat. His death was the direct result of their decision, particularly since most areas operate under a localized monopoly with regard to power companies.

I'm not advocating forcing power companies to give free energy or anything of the sort, all I'm doing here is exploring people's "take" on this.

Well if you want to get this literal, the electric company only took away the means to acquire heat just as my boss only took away my means to acquire food. They didn't take heat away from the old man just as my boss didn't take away food from me, but they took away electricity from the old man just as the boss took money away from me. The old man could have been able to keep warm through blankets or by visiting a friend, but if that's outrageous then how outrageous is it for me to go find other sources of food? Either way I'd be dependent on my friends or family for food just as the old man would be dependent on family or friends for heat.

The fact that the guy stayed in his house for however long it was tells you he was incapable of taking care of himself any longer. I mean, when you are in a house, the temperature is much warmer. You're out of the wind, you have insulation, and blankets should be plentiful. The guy obviously was inside for days while it became progressively colder at which point you have to question whether or not the man was capable of taking care of himself.

Again, we could throw him in a home where he'd die of depression within a few months which would violate Rule #1 of Libertarianism/anarchism whatever you wanna view it and that is "do not use force upon others". So we either forcefully evict him from his house or let him die there because he didn't pay his bills which I'm sure he was given notice multiple times of the situation.

[satchelmcqueen]

Actually, for us, bills here are a lot cheaper than they were in Chicagoland, even though the house is a lot bigger.

thats good. ours just keeps climbing and i swear we dont use anymore from one months to the next. as a matter of fact i am like an electricity cutting nazi. i cannot cut anymore.

i need solar panels if they ever get cheap so i can get off the grid and save some dough.:D