Norway mass-murderer Anders Behring Breivik likely to avoid jail time

From cnn.com:

The man accused of killing 77 people in a terrorist rampage that shook Norway last summer is insane and cannot be sentenced to prison or preventive detention, but can be confined to a mental hospital for the rest of his life, police said Tuesday.

After 36 hours of police and psychiatrists interviewing Anders Breivik, they've reached the conclusion that Breivik was psychotic during the killings, opening the window to the likely possibility of him avoiding jail time altogether and spending the rest of his life in a mental hospital.

If this turns out to be the case it'll be one of the greatest injustices we've ever seen. We've taken the time to read through Brievik's 1,500 page manifesto and it's clear that the man was extremely calculated and thorough in all of his actions. It was probably the most "sane" and well put together manifestos we've ever seen, making it all the more scary. Usually when someone goes out in a blaze and they vent their grievances in a manifesto, it's full of mindless ramblings that only make sense to someone with an IQ lower than 30. But Behring knew exactly what he was doing and knew it was wrong - he had no illusions about it.

But does it really matter either way? When someone kills 77 people in a calculated mass execution, does it really matter what a couple therapists think about his state of mind? How does that really change anything? I suppose a mental hospital could help treat a person of mental illness and get them back to a state closer to "normal". But with a guy like this, what's the point? Is there going to be a day where they say "after a couple years of treatment, Breivik now realizes what he did was wrong, he has corrected his thinking, and now he'll be a productive member of society"? If that happens, where's the justice? Well great, he now knows it's wrong to kill people. Yeah it's too bad about the 77 dead, but we're sure glad Breivik now knows right from wrong.

In cases like this, we need to look at what the goals of justice are. The #1 priority here should be to keep guys like this off the streets and away from society. Whether or not he is able to reach a point of mental clarity or deal with his inner demons, that's really his concern and should not be the burden of society. And sure if you want to treat his psychological issues, have at it, but aren't there plenty of more worthy people with mental illnesses that it would make sense to focus on instead? And I think we should also keep in mind the possibility of escape - do you really think a mental hospital is as secure as a prison? Either lock him up and throw away the key or put him out of his misery so everyone can move on with their lives without him.

Healthcare Solution: Everyone Pays Cash

Everyone's always talking about the health care crisis, it's one of the biggest "hot button" issues these days. Some of us here at People Liking People have had major health issues and we know first hand how incompetent the health care system can be. Costs are skyrocketing and health problems are going undiagnosed for years. So when people start complaining about health care, we're the first to agree and say that some changes do need to be made. Unfortunately the solutions most people are proposing and putting into action are dead wrong and are the complete opposite of what needs to happen to improve health care. Everyone is demanding that the government do something about the crisis, and the government is more than happy to oblige because usually their solutions end up giving them more power.

The real solution is for everyone to pay out of pocket 100% for their health care. Now I know the thought of this scares a lot of people. The reason it's so scary is because health care costs are through the roof and most people can't afford health care at current rates, ourselves included (We're not rich here at People Liking People). However, you need to understand that the reason health care costs so much is because of the third party payment system.

The third party payment system effects many factors:

1) The health care provider's real customer is no longer you, it's whoever is actually footing the bill. Their real customers are the insurance companies and the government.

2) People stop paying attention to the real cost. Most people don't know how much their doctors actually charge for visits, they don't know how much a CT scan is, and they don't know much their medication really costs. All they know is that with their insurance card, they pay their $25 co-pay and they're on their way. Nobody prices around looking for the best deal on a health product or service. Our insurance card takes care of that and we don't need to think about it.

3) As a result of people not paying for their health services, people aren't really that demanding with the quality they receive. We are not as demanding as we should be with doctors. We put up with their in-and-out 5 minute visits and we put up with them not always being the most thorough. We don't really make a big deal about it though it didn't cost us that much, oh well it was just $25.

4) Whoever foots the bill has the control. We have to go through their approval process to see whether or not we can receive a certain procedure.

People Liking People's Golden Rule: The more someone else is paying for a product or service you're receiving, the less of a say so you have in it. Also - you cannot complain about something you are receiving for free. Wheres your bargaining power? You have none. You're a liability now.


Imagine if tomorrow someone flipped a switch and all the sudden there was no health insurance. No third party payment systems. All cash out of pocket for doctors visits and procedures. What do you think would happen?

The first thing that would happen is patients would be calling their doctors offices asking what they're charging for a visit. There would be a lot of "WTF? you gotta be kidding me!" moments. For the first time people would be finding out just how much health providers have been gouging us. There would also be a lot of "Uhmm that's the best price you do? I'll have to call you back let me check around". Within a week prices would be driven down significantly by the market. If the doctors kept prices at the same high levels, appointments per day would drastically go down. Doctors would be forced to lower their prices to get demand back to what it was. All of the sudden little by little it would turn into a real competitive market, with the patient calling the shots and having the bargaining power. Doctors would be competing with each other, trying to offer the best quality at the lowest cost, and hospitals would be doing the same with the cost for procedures and tests.

And now that everyone is paying with cash, you better believe people are going to be a lot more demanding with the quality they're receiving. That's money coming right out of their pocket, they're not going to leave that office until the problem is resolved. And doctors and hospitals will work extra hard to keep customer loyalty.

If you were to have a bad experience at a restaurant and you speak to the manager and threaten to take your business elsewhere, there's a good chance they will be very apologetic and maybe even give you a meal for free. Try threatening to take your business elsewhere in a doctors office and see how quickly you get laughed out of there. They do not try hard for our business, they do not care. You're not the one paying them. When you pay for what you receive, that gives you complete control and bargaining power. It gives us the right to be demanding and creates a competitive dynamic among providers. This is how you lower costs and increase quality. Having someone else pay for it puts us completely at the whim of the payer and provider.