John Oliver buys $15m in medical debt and forgives it on TV

Would you rather spend 20 minutes reading about the hazards of predatory debt collection, or would you rather spend 20 minutes watching someone forgive millions of dollars in debt, complete with a giveaway that professed to put Oprah Winfrey’s famous “You Get a Car!” gimmick to shame?

If you chose Option B, congratulations, you are precisely the target audience for John Oliver’s “Last Week Tonight,” a show that understands that the best way to convey vital information in an age marked by attention deficit is to wrap it up in spectacle.

youtube.com/watch?v=hxUAntt1z2c

nytimes.com/2016/06/07/arts/television/for-his-latest-trick-john-oliver-forgives-15-million-in-medical-debt.html

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Only $60k?

60k.

60k to him, but 15m to the people who owed the debt.

Debt that was so bad it would likely never have been collected anyway.

I watched the video and I just don't understand Johnny boy. He goes on about how debt is "evil" and how forgiving it is OBVIOUSLY the right thing to do. Is this the endgame of leftist entitlement culture? I mean, nobody held a gun to your head when you accrued that debt. Pay it the fuck back. I mean there's something to be said about the Jewishness of predatory lending and usury but we all know that's not his angle.

I just don't get it... I never thought liberal mental gymnastics would impress me again but this one gets me.

Debt that was literally worth 60k. As it was probably 10 year old debt that hasn't had a single payment.

Debt that an unpleasant debt collector could have used to make the lives of some of these people miserable.
Not everyone understands the FCRA

He should tell his kike friends to forgive debt too

>no one held a gun to their head
>it was medical debt
>some if it may have literally been because someone held a gun to their head
>maybe they should just have chosen not to get sick

>Need something/service
>Can't afford
>Find lenders
>Agree to their terms
>Presumably didn't read small print or T&Cs
>Now in debt
>No intention of paying it back
>WAAAAHHHH I SHOULDN'T BE MADE TO BE PERSONALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR MY OWN ACTIONS! BERNIE 2016!

Fucking scum.
Thank god my parents taught me never to get a credit card or anything like that.

He forgave 15 million in debt that has already destroyed credit scores and was uncollectable

It was just chauvinistic gesture with no real purpose

Probably debt that was past that point.

Being against usury is a Marxist staple. It's nothing new.

Banning usury is pretty much 100% anti-Jew.

>get cancer
>well it would be financially irresponsible to put myself into debt
>die

it's medical debt

how are you even a real person being that stupid right now

jon oliver is nigger tier, but thats pretty cool

His show/firm paid $60,000 USD for the worthless debt. Not him, personally.

They're able to write it off.

Tens of thousands of smug liberals were swindled into believing what he did was great and "brilliant", while some of them are following through with his 'call to action', to demand more government regulation, which is most likely responsible for this issue.

its. fucking. medical. debt.
Its not like they were buying xboxes. You're right, they should have fallen out of wealthier vaginas as children.

there are a lot of ways to resurrect uncollectible debt if the person that owes it doesn't know its uncollectible.

Did he say "match me" at the end of the segment? I'd love to see celebs trip over themselves with financial virtue signaling up the point where a Shkreli type donates gorillions to a porn company or something


Wh

Was John Oliver this ugly 10 years ago? I get more sick of his face every year.

So what's the solution?

>Thank god my parents taught me never to get a credit card or anything like that.

Same, no credit shit, no financed shit. I buy what I can when I save up for it.

>to demand more government regulation, which is most likely responsible for this issue.
Quads nailed it.

We used to have a nation that looked down on usury AND was capitalistic. They're not incontrovertible.

Surely the expected value of redeeming that debt must have been less than $60k for him to be able to buy it at that price, right? Else why would they sell it. He may aswell have just burnt his money.

>"If you can't afford it, save up and make do without until you can buy it" - my mum

Americans love fighting against their economic self-interest. There is a reason we have terrible health outcomes relative to other OCED countries despite spending a ton more on healthcare. We're all rugged individualists, right guys? Let's die together so we don't have to raise taxes on the 1%

Now that that company knows he's not using the list they'll just sell it to someone else. He's an idiot.

Maybe? You can't force people to become doctors and/or heal the sick for free. Although that being said, hospitals go full Jew mode and bill insurance companies whatever the fuck they can get away with.

It's also decreased so much in value that it's worth barely a fraction of its supposed gross.

This is probably scraped knees and bellyaches, of which the people had no intention of repaying.

Current year looks good on a tombstone, Johnny boy.

>there are a lot of ways to resurrect uncollectible debt if the person that owes it doesn't know its uncollectible.
>if the person that owes it doesn't know its uncollectible.

in your world, the only time personal responsibility is a factor is when they say "thanks for giving this to *me*."

didn't he only buy the debt for $60k?

The producers saw it as an opportunity to gain new viewers via clickbait titles like "JOHN OLIVER BUYS 15M WORTH OF DEBT".

>insurance cartels and cheap credit bid up prices
>healthcare becomes unaffordable
>welp better adopt communism

whatever happened to rational systemic reform?

At 13:10 Jon Oliver suggests a law maker having a wife in banking influenced his decisions making, and yet Trump gets accused of being racist when he suggests a judge of Mexican heritage and part of a pro hispanic group might be biased

I'm about as right wing as they come but our healthcare system is influenced by populism and managed by special interests, neither or which is good

we need technocracy - it should be run entirely by the surgeon general, not by politicans (who is Kathleen Sebelius)

Health is one of the few self-evident industries that ought to be government run, specifically because it can present a life or death situation, which isn't the kind of level-headed consumer decision-making where everybody walks away happy. Even libertarians should understand that. All government has to do is make being a medical professional attractive. Then provide for people's medical needs as best as possible. That means taking the Pereto principle into consideration. If you have the money to afford absurdly expensive edge case treatments, then by all means go to a private doctor. We have police to protect our property rights and our personal safety. Nobody wants to be shaken down to feel safe. Or healthy.

How?

So, they were 99.6% "forgiven" basically, and he took it another 0.4% of the way, what an angel, clearly his ideas on medical care are now valid. Kek

Debt spurs the economy. Debt isn't bad. Shitty debt is bad.

Why doesn't he mention that our currency is based on debt? Or that the reason the healthcare costs are so high is because of the affordable healthcare act forcing citizens to buy health insurance making the insurance companies raise prices resulting in increased costs for treatment?

>15m in medical debt
God bless John Oliver for wiping away the debt of fifteen people.

Yeah before the ACA healthcare was so cheap in the USA.

This and this.... Banks lose if no one is dumb enough to fall for there schemes.

it was cheaper than it is now, and it would've/could be cheaper if they allowed competition across state lines

Then import self caused clauses or force everyone to exercise, eat right, not smoke, or not drink. Since it costs everyone else money. Or it's not fair.

S I X T Y
T H O U S A N D

You also have very sluggish growth. You don't buy anything so no money goes into the system. Money in the system spurs innovation and business ownership. It's the leeches that fuck it up.

I want to really blow this guy's had off. What do?

it was for people with jobs

now we're covering every nigger alive

Leeches die in a perfect system. Also nice neighborhood houses are 30-100k.

I'm not saying the law isn't draconian or oppressive. It's no different when you're in the airport taking your shoes off for the TSA. Wouldn't even know where to start criticizing the public school system. Zoning. Emissions. The government is heavy handed, yes. There are ways to address and fix that.

>Leeches die in a perfect system.
That's the exact opposite of civilization. What you're talking about is the jungle, and we left a long time ago.

We should turn over our healthcare to career politicians who will make it illegal to smoke or be fat or say "nigger".

I use credit cards, but only for shit I know I can afford. I pay it off every month and get cash back.

Aside from my house, I don't do debt.

He bought 60,000 in debt that the people had no obligation to pay.

Whoope doo.

I use credit cards, but only for shit I know I can afford. I pay it off every month and get cash back.

Aside from my house, I don't do debt. My dad was right about that.

>illegal to be fat
Please someone lead us into this glorious utopia.

Husband and wife share finances
Husband is a lawmaker, passes laws that make it easier for his wife, a banker, to make more money
Husband makes more money.

Trump acts like a racist asshat
Claims that because he's a racist asshat, other people may be biased against him
Demands that all groups that he offends recuse themselves from adjudicating him.

Yes, the parallels are obvious

I don't really get it either.

>Take out loan

>"You shouldn't have to pay it back"

No one will lend money.

No loans means no businesses get up and running, houses don't get built etc etc.

From what I understand, it's debt that a company cannot sue over because the debt is so old. So, while still a noble deed because those people with those debts don't have to worry about being harrased, I wouldn't say that this is the same thing as giving away 15 million dollars. You have to wonder why the companies are selling debt for pennies on the dollar and it's probably because the companies that have the debt don't see a profit in keeping them.

Well he is Jewish.

They can't sue.
They can trick

They can call and ask them to make a 'goodwill payment' to temporarily close the account-just ten dollars. They're lying, of course, because the people don't have to pay anything. But that goodwill payment resurrects the debt and puts them back in the game of having to pay it back.

If you don't know how FCRA works, you can get hosed. and few people do.

I have like 3k in medical bills, they just keep kicking it to new collection companies and I keep throwing out their letters. Good luck getting it.

The fact that there are arbitrary risks in life, such as health issues, is not an excuse to be a slimy parasite. Cancer fucking sucks, we get it, but we have our own lives independent of yours. Pay for catastrophic health coverage if cancer is your worry, oh wait, government ruined health insurance for us by trying to make it equitable.

This sounds illegal though. Again if collecting this money is so easy why are companies practically giving the debt away in the first place?

>Central Asset Recovery Professionals — or CARP
POL IS ALWAYS RIGHT

>maybe they should just have chosen not to get sick
maybe they should try living a healthier, non-degenerate lifestyle

ya, well I look forward to you getting cancer as quickly as possible. Preferably with as many family members as possible to eliminate your sad, selfish line from the genetic pool.

Dude pretends law does nothing, but it happens to be super helpful for his wife.
How fucking retarded are you?

Humans, animals get sick and die. It's part of the life. You're not entitled to luxury just because you're alive.

Sup Forums enlighten me, why do they sell debt at such low prices?
Also, why don't they just offer to cancel the debt if the debtor pays the same price they would sell the debt for?

>health care is a luxury
>says the Leaf

>its. fucking. medical. debt.
you should hang around an ER sometime
people go there for the stupidest shit ALL THE TIME
allnurses.com/emergency-nursing/add-your-funny-218623.html

the real problem is monopoly, we have a monopoly in finance and insurance that drives up prices.

>walk on side walk
>get hit by a car going insane
>rushed to hospital
>they don't take you insurance.

So what you'll accept death at this point? How is that not totally fucked. Or are you going to say that you shouldn't have walked a block to work that day?

No go ahead faggot, lets hear your retarded mental gymnastics over this shit.

because they know they can't collect and collecting is more trouble than it's worth.

thats another factor, yes

imagine a group of people owes you a bunch of money but aren't paying, you still control the debt but it's really a massive liability and you have little chance of recovering it because debt recovery isn't your business or forte.

instead of having this enormous loss being part of your finances you can sell it to someone else at a significant discount of its 'worth' to a third party who IS able to collect the debt.

say you sold it off for 25% of its 'worth' you now only take a total loss of 75% instead of 100% and the third party can then try to recoup the debt from those who owed it.

One man's health issues is not another man's obligation. UK, France, and Canada all have unfunded liabilities in their health fields. The governments are doing everything they can to cut costs in their socialized healthcare. They cut away from innovation, patient time, anything to cut costs. The government will literally evaluate for you if the operation is worth the money. Sure, patients can perhaps cover the extra costs of the expensive operation, but then what's the point of a national healthcare system, or single payer? Instead of the poor dying from expensive costs, you spread the deaths across all incomes. Catastrophic insurance is the way to go if cancer is your worry, and it has historically been cheap when government didn't meddle in it, like $40 a month, less than a cellphone data plan.

I used to work for a debt collector's"hub". It was basically the middleman before a company sold its debt on to another company.

Often the reason why they're sold so low is because the people who have amassed the debt have their credit rating shattered. That means they're not likely to be given finance for anything again, so they go off the grid and start using cash only.

After an address change or two, they're practically untraceable. After about 5-6 years, the debts are written off. They still loom, but the pursuit is over.

They sell it on from there at such a low price because it's better to get something, as opposed to wipe it clean completely and get nothing.

To answer the second question, there's no point agreeing to clear an amount with a debtor for a heavily reduced price, considering you've found them and can get them for everything they owe.

>say you sold it off for 25% of its 'worth' you now only take a total loss of 75% instead of 100% and the third party can then try to recoup the debt from those who owed it.
Doing what? Giving people mean calls?

asset seizure and lawsuits

pretty fucking stand up thing to do in the current year desu lads.

Emergency rooms have to treat you regardless of ability to pay. This has been law for decades.

yeah mean calls, letters, visits whatever the fuck their business model is that lets them make money.

the point is they buy someone elses debt, which allows that business to take a smaller loss and gives them the ability to make cash from this purchased debt.

this guy is a fagget and needs to go back

Even if you removed Trump from he equation, the judge being in a pro-Hispanic organization represents a clear and distinct bias in his decision making process.

Why don't more people just buy their debt at a lower cost? Or are there laws against this so people need to go through a middle man?

>its. fucking. medical. debt.
>Its not like they were buying xboxes.

It doesn't matter. Resources aren't free. The only people who think so are r-selected leftists like le current year bloke and his audience.

Was it his personal $15 million or was it fundraiser/donation money?

Where's my gibs you limey fuck?

You owe what you owe.

I can't rack up £100,000 of credit card debt and then have the nerve to tell Mastercard that I'm only giving back £15,000 and they should be grateful.

I owe them £100k. That's my responsibility.

nevermind, he only paid 60k. literally fucking nothing.

Basically he just did what Trump said should be done to the US' debt--he bought it for fractions of a dollar. Guy spent under 100k to buy old debt that was unlikely pursued.

thats what car insurance is for

yes it helps pay for auto vs. pedestrian

this is assuming its not a hit and run, that the motorist is carrying insurance (required in most states), or an illegal alien

No I'm saying what if you of $100,000 to Mastercard
Mastercard sells their debt to someone for $10,000 for example.
Then you offer $15,000 to the person that bought it.
Is this legal? You've cut your debt by $85,000, person who bought debt makes $5,000, and Mastercard consented to the $90,000 loss when the sold it to the new creditor.

>a slimy parasite
>because they have cancer
>mommmmyyy thats myyyyy moneyyyyyyy

and cuckservatives think it's the sjws being completely over-the-top retards

No shit? Those companies dont expect you to pay the whole thing, They pester you with offers like that.