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America’s Dead Souls

theparisreview.org

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Re: America’s Dead Souls

#71

Post by gabereiser »

refurb wrote: post #64
gabereiser wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Imagine being locked up for not paying fines, only to be fined further while your in, and unable to break the cycle...

Right, that’s not great, but that’s not what people mean by debtors prison.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debtors%27_prison

If someone is unable to pay their debt, they are thrown back in jail, accruing more debt. How is this not a debtors prison? Perfect examples are listed on this wikipedia article. Child-support, garnishments, confiscations, etc. It's exactly what I described.

https://lasentinel.net/if-youre-poor-in-america-debtors-pris...

Inmates who are unable to pay their fees (for even being in jail) are unable to leave. For-profit prisons are real.

Re: America’s Dead Souls

#72

Post by ng12 »

Archelaos wrote: post #62
gumby wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> How can I be legally responsible for my parents? Well your parents are legally responsible for you for a period of time. There are many countries (I am most familiar with Germany in this regard) where the children are considered responsible for the parents. I was not aware this was the case in the USA. In some countries it's quite difficult / impossible to disown or disinherit various relatives.

In Germany, the obligation to pay alimony depends on the child's income. Only when the childs income (before taxes) excceeds 100,000 Euros per anno she/he has to pay something. There exists no obligation to pay alimony for grandparents.

What if you're estranged from your parents? If you haven't talked to them for twenty years are you still liable?

Re: America’s Dead Souls

#73

Post by quanto »

agf wrote: post #69
quanto wrote: post #68

A wonderful read on Russian literature, unfortunately tarnished by one unsupported, hard-to-believe claim: > There are endless articles on why America has failed to curb the pandemic. The truth is simple. People profit from our death. Foreclosure companies, debt collectors, real estate agents, news corporations, health care tycoons, senators, and presidents, to name a few. So, the American society collectively willin…

Senators and Presidents are more likely to be re-elected by a certain segment of the population if they oppose COVID restrictions of various kinds, yes. And news networks always profit in ratings from a crisis. Both political and ratings success translate pretty directly into financial success. For the other examples, I have no idea if any of those professions disproportionately oppose scientifically accepted COVID r…

I appreciate your civil tone. However, I do think you are defending a much weaker interpretation, though. My interpretation of the OP's claim of "profiting from death" is far stronger than yours.

> Yes, quite explicitly? Many people publicly made the argument that it was worth more people dying to keep the economy open,

Yes, in the same sense that having high ways open (or having them at all) will cause more automobile-related deaths but will improve economic output and general quality of living of its citizens. So, in this sense, a driving commuter benefits from having high ways, but does he profit from deaths from automobile-related accidents? I see that as a far stronger statement/question.

Edit: minor edits on words

Re: America’s Dead Souls

#74

Post by ajuc »

tyoma wrote: post #3

Creditors can only go after the assets of the estate. One does not inherit debts. In this case the State likely got the house to pay back Medicaid via “Medicaid Recovery”.

It's funny how everything fucked up in USA goes back to their idiotic healthcare system.

Re: America’s Dead Souls

#75

Post by hef19898 »

masklinn wrote: post #29
hi41 wrote: post #14

I am shocked to see the debt fall on the descendant. Is this legal? If a parent commits a murder the legal system does not blame the descendant. How is it legal for debt be passed to descendants?

Afaik if you accept the inheritance, you accept all of it. Normally the solution is to reject it, at least if you know the estate’s in the red, but you can not pick and choose. We’ve done this for the inheritance of one of my uncles who died severely in debt, as well as his wife and children, everyone of his sibling, nieces, and nephews, had to refuse the inheritance when they came of age. For a few years that was ba…

Luckily your family catched it. Sounds similar enough to German law, so. But I have honestly no idea about the details. We do have the situation so, that children can, and are, be hold liable for their parents living costs. E.g. when the parents are under the last tier of social security (Hartz IV is really fucked up not just in that regard) or in a retirement home of sorts. Which sucks, because if your parents abused you, courts can still force you to sustain them.

Re: America’s Dead Souls

#76

Post by hef19898 »

toomuchtodo wrote: post #66
divbzero wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Beyond refusing the inheritance, could this be avoided by leaving the inheritance to the state in a will? In that case, would the state inherit the debt?

With proper estate planning, you can pass on assets while leaving the debt in a state where it can't be pursued.

Again something the affluent can do, those most at risk of being in private or consumer debt aren't probably even aware of all of that.

Re: America’s Dead Souls

#77

Post by watt »

okareaman wrote: post #61
robocat wrote: post #51

I am in awe of her paragraph: “ Every time I read one of the Russian greats my life transforms into an eerie mirror of the work. I had already experienced a year of obsessive relationship analysis (Anna Karenina), six months beneath the thumb of a powerful boss whose political maneuvers were far reaching and whose requests quickly spiraled into the hellish and fantastic (The Master and Margarita), a week on the run w…

If books by great artists were drugs they'd be illegal or at least strictly controlled.

There's a play on this idea by the way, "Dostoevsky-Trip". https://www.srkn.ru/texts/dostoev1.shtml

Not sure if it's been translated. I did see it in a theater, and it was a lot of fun.

Re: America’s Dead Souls

#78

Post by vincnetas »

s1artibartfast wrote: post #70
notsureaboutpg wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Realistically, when parents get old, it is their children who become responsible for them. I feel like this is quite common sense... especially seeing as children inherit from their parents...

Parents choose to have a child and should have the responsibility to care for them. Despite this, there are still mechanisms by which parent can legally abandon their children. Children do not choose to be born, so the moral contract is different. I would agree that most people who were cared for as children should care for their elders, and should want to. But what if they hate or despise their parents. Do they “owe…

Children do not choose to be born, don't want to sound cynical, but they can undo it quite easily. If you think about it, being born is best thing that could have happened to you. Because without it actually nothing could have happened to you. So being alive is better than not to exists at all.

Re: America’s Dead Souls

#79

Post by madaxe_again »

robocat wrote: post #51

I am in awe of her paragraph: “ Every time I read one of the Russian greats my life transforms into an eerie mirror of the work. I had already experienced a year of obsessive relationship analysis (Anna Karenina), six months beneath the thumb of a powerful boss whose political maneuvers were far reaching and whose requests quickly spiraled into the hellish and fantastic (The Master and Margarita), a week on the run w…

It resonated deeply with me - there is something about Russian literature that worms its way deep into your essence, in a way I’ve never quite found with western literature, which, while impactful, somehow doesn’t have the same long-lasting depth of effect. I haven’t read Crime and Punishment in nearly 20 years, but I can still see Raskolnikov’s grotty abode, still feel the panic at the confrontation with Lizaveta, still feel the dazed ramblings through the streets of St Petersburg, the need for absolution. I still feel the blank and bleak repetitiveness of the existence of Ivan Denisovich, building up and breaking down, just because.

Re: America’s Dead Souls

#80

Post by publicola1990 »

madaxe_again wrote: post #79
robocat wrote: post #51

I am in awe of her paragraph: “ Every time I read one of the Russian greats my life transforms into an eerie mirror of the work. I had already experienced a year of obsessive relationship analysis (Anna Karenina), six months beneath the thumb of a powerful boss whose political maneuvers were far reaching and whose requests quickly spiraled into the hellish and fantastic (The Master and Margarita), a week on the run w…

It resonated deeply with me - there is something about Russian literature that worms its way deep into your essence, in a way I’ve never quite found with western literature, which, while impactful, somehow doesn’t have the same long-lasting depth of effect. I haven’t read Crime and Punishment in nearly 20 years, but I can still see Raskolnikov’s grotty abode, still feel the panic at the confrontation with Lizaveta, s…

Is that really true? I have often felt that the French and English have given us great Novels too, especially in 18th and 19th century.

War and Peace is great, but perhaps Les Miserables pips it scope and dramatic stakes essential covering the same period of time. Flaubert is also very cinematic. Zola's naturalism is also deeply introspective.

English given us a more comic look at life, from Fielding, to Trollope, and even later in Evelyn Waugh.

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