Whistle While You (Don't) Wirkkala
We've got a live one -- a lady (calls herself "Leslie," anyway) coming to the defense of the poor, underprivileged Dana Point family: you know, the Wirkkalas, in their ocean-view, $535,000 home, with the dad who earns $70K, and the mom who'd really rather home-school their THREE children than get a job. Poor dears somehow can't make their healthcare costs. Seems the rest of us should pick them up for them. My attitude, quoted in the link above:
Why should I pay for them? Lose the ocean view, send the kids to public school, have Mommy get a job, and get Kaiser, mooches.By the way, where's my taxpayer-funded $535,000-plus home? I mean, if I don't have to pay for health insurance because other people are paying my way, there are a lot of luxuries I can afford!
I'm with this commenter on the LAT story:
10. They have a choice. Every kid does not need thier own bedroom. I shared a bedroom with my sister and 1 bathroom with 3 other siblings. Live in a less expensive palce, other state or even another city. The father work for a company that provides insurance. He is being very selfish wanting his own business that does not provide for the family. He says he wants time with his family, but he works 6 days a week. The mother put your kids in public school and get a job during the day. You want that lifestyle with 3-kids, its your responsibility to PLAN for it! It's not right to ask me or anyone else to feel sorry for them. Submitted by: Leza 11:24 AM PST, November 25, 2007Yeah, you know what? You can keep Universal Health Care. What I really want is Universal Beachfront Homes. Pony up, taxpayers! Ocean view, here I come!
Now, some lady who calls herself "Leslie" comes to the poor dears' defense in the comments of the entry above:
not a single one of you people know the entire story about the wirkkalas, they are awesome parents, it makes me sick to read all the mean horrible things that are being written about this family. I dont remember reading one time in the article that they want a hand out, i think the main reason for the article is to show that even families of middle class are priced out of health care.
My comment in response to hers:
Nobody told these people to have children they couldn't afford to support. The mother could work and send the kids to public school. They could live in a rental or in a cheaper house. Saying they are "awesome parents" is ridiculous -- you give no rebuttals to anything posted about them or included in the article.Furthermore, I e-mailed them and got no response. You know them? Ask them to respond.
The questions: How dare they extrude three children and live in a fancy community and think they have the luxury of home-schooling their kids and then expect the rest of us to pay their health insurance? How dare they burden their kids the way they did, telling them to not fall off their skateboards because there's no money for broken arms. How...disgusting.
I have always paid my way, including my healthcare costs. And sorry to mention it again for all you regular blog readers, but at one point, after I was forced to leave an NYC apartment share, I couldn't afford a bed. (I slept in a sleeping bag on an old door propped up on two milk crates.) But, even then, I paid my health insurance, because my health care is MY responsibility, nobody else's.
Come on, tell us "the entire story."
"Priced out of health care"? A family has three children it can't afford to take care of because they live in a fancy schmancy ocean-view house and would rather home-school their kids? Vile.