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HalfMooner
Dingaling
Philippines
15831 Posts |
 Posted - 10/12/2006 : 16:32:41
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This caught my eye, as I'm fairly close to this guy's age and situation. Many people point to the relative wealth of today's older people in America. My Mom and Dad, for instance, have good finances. But I'm here to tell you that for many of us, this is not the case, and we truly live in fear from month to month.
I feel for this guy! Here's the story: quote:
Jobless man asks judge for jail time
POSTED: 2:55 p.m. EDT, October 12, 2006
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- A man who couldn't find steady work came up with a plan to make it through the next few years until he could collect Social Security: He robbed a bank, then handed the money to a guard and waited for police.
On Wednesday, Timothy J. Bowers told a judge a three-year prison sentence would suit him, and the judge obliged.
. . .
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“Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive. |
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H. Humbert
SFN Die Hard
USA
4574 Posts |
Posted - 10/12/2006 : 17:15:34 [Permalink]
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That's pretty messed up.
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"A man is his own easiest dupe, for what he wishes to be true he generally believes to be true." --Demosthenes
"The first principle is that you must not fool yourself - and you are the easiest person to fool." --Richard P. Feynman
"Face facts with dignity." --found inside a fortune cookie |
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ocheewah
Skeptic Friend
USA
50 Posts |
Posted - 10/13/2006 : 07:38:24 [Permalink]
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| What really got me was the prosecutor's comment about being afraid not to put him in jail lest he go do something even worse. Anyone ever think about trying to help him find some positive resources to get him through? Columbus is a large enough city that there should be area ministry centers (or something similar) that help people bridge the gap when they aren't eligible for other kinds of social or governmental services. Would much rather my charitable donations be helping support him than my tax dollars. |
Those who danced were thought quite insane by those who could not hear the music. |
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Cuneiformist
The Imperfectionist
USA
4955 Posts |
Posted - 10/13/2006 : 10:11:12 [Permalink]
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quote:
Originally posted by ocheewah
What really got me was the prosecutor's comment about being afraid not to put him in jail lest he go do something even worse. Anyone ever think about trying to help him find some positive resources to get him through? Columbus is a large enough city that there should be area ministry centers (or something similar) that help people bridge the gap when they aren't eligible for other kinds of social or governmental services. Would much rather my charitable donations be helping support him than my tax dollars.
I thought the same thing, ocheewah. There simply has to be a way to get this guy to the place he wants to be without locking him up for three years. I freely admit that finding work can be hard-- especially since he's 63 (e.g. the news stories about Wal-Mart trying to runn off older workers, among others). But is jail really the answer? Especially when it's obvious that he's not a criminal? |
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leoofno
Skeptic Friend
USA
346 Posts |
Posted - 10/13/2006 : 11:31:20 [Permalink]
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Reminds me of the stories my dad would tell me as a kid of how "bums", in the Fall, would sometimes throw a brick through a store window so they could spend the winter in a warm jail with 3 meals a day. Similar concept.
Edited to add: I can't help but think about a recent story in Vanity Fair on Hadifa, and how US soldiers there called in a $180,000 bomb strike to kill ("pink mist") one Iraqi insurgent. And that was just the cost of the bomb. |
"If you're not terrified, you're not paying attention." Eric Alterman
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| Edited by - leoofno on 10/13/2006 11:39:11 |
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HalfMooner
Dingaling
Philippines
15831 Posts |
Posted - 10/13/2006 : 15:13:58 [Permalink]
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One of the things that is most striking to me is that the poor fellow was such a gentleman about the whole robbery. Apparently just a note to the teller, no threat, no weapon. And he immediately handed over the measly $80 to the bank guard, telling him, "Today's your day to be a hero."
And I agree that it would have been much more economical (not to say more humane!) if the court could have given they guy a temporary stipend, rather than lock him away for three years at great tax payer expense. But then, the judge probably didn't have that legal option.
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“Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive. |
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beskeptigal
SFN Die Hard
USA
3834 Posts |
Posted - 10/15/2006 : 13:22:46 [Permalink]
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Why no social security? Can't you collect at age 59? I wonder what the different payout would have been?
There are minimum wage jobs available (granted not ideal) all over town here. That would have to be better than no freedom. The story is odd to say the least. |
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chaloobi
SFN Regular
1620 Posts |
Posted - 10/16/2006 : 09:04:04 [Permalink]
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quote:
Originally posted by HalfMooner
This caught my eye, as I'm fairly close to this guy's age and situation. Many people point to the relative wealth of today's older people in America. My Mom and Dad, for instance, have good finances. But I'm here to tell you that for many of us, this is not the case, and we truly live in fear from month to month.
I feel for this guy! Here's the story: quote:
Jobless man asks judge for jail time
POSTED: 2:55 p.m. EDT, October 12, 2006
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- A man who couldn't find steady work came up with a plan to make it through the next few years until he could collect Social Security: He robbed a bank, then handed the money to a guard and waited for police.
On Wednesday, Timothy J. Bowers told a judge a three-year prison sentence would suit him, and the judge obliged.
. . .
Yep, the last best social safety net the US has is prison. Great.  |
-Chaloobi
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chaloobi
SFN Regular
1620 Posts |
Posted - 10/16/2006 : 09:08:00 [Permalink]
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quote:
Originally posted by ocheewah
What really got me was the prosecutor's comment about being afraid not to put him in jail lest he go do something even worse. Anyone ever think about trying to help him find some positive resources to get him through? Columbus is a large enough city that there should be area ministry centers (or something similar) that help people bridge the gap when they aren't eligible for other kinds of social or governmental services. Would much rather my charitable donations be helping support him than my tax dollars.
On that same line of thought - the US has blown, what, 250 billion + on Iraq so far? A war we didn't need to fight, that has made the world a generally more dangerous place for the US, and will likely not be won is worth going up to our necks in debt. Just imagine a bill in congress to take that same money and put it into a social safety net, to actually help down and out people in the US. Yeah, right. Somethings wrong. |
-Chaloobi
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