Public Enemies: Health Insurers and Tax Collectors
In an especially busy news environment, one story broke through that has nothing to do with cabinet nominations, Trumpian threats to jail his political rivals, or the fall of a despotic foreign dictator. That story, of course, is the brazen murder of the chief executive of the largest health insurance company in the US (and probably the world). A suspect has now been caught and charged, and the evidence at this point looks pretty damning. But the wheels of justice will grind through, and one never knows what surprises might arise. My interest here is not in the criminal law, however, but rather in the noteworthy public reaction (and reaction to that reaction) that has followed the murder. Even before the apparent motive was established as almost certainly being tied to the health insurance industry, one could almost feel the righteous rage bubbling up, revealing in stark terms many people's lack of sympathy or sorrow -- and that is putting it mildly -- after the ...