I have heard that even if a person gets divorced, if they have major debt, the company can come after their spouse. I read this in a Suze Orman (financial planner) book. I also heard that if the someone becomes ill and runs huge medical bills/debt and cannot work etc ( thus can't foot their own medical bill), the responsibility may fall onto the spouse and children ( grown children).

It makes me think about all the disasters that arise due to the SAD diet. I think that if a person wishes to be totally SAD ( Standard American Diet),then they should think about what they are doing to their loved ones.

I always hear about how someone gets a heart attack, diabetes, arthritis etc etc etc. ( all stuff that could have been prevented from diet, exercise, stress management etc) and how they are suddenly unable to go to work. The spouse is then left to be the sole provider. He or she is not only faced with the normal stress of a working life but the ADDITIONAL GINORMOUS stress of having to foot enormous and mounting medical bills. Sometimes the bills are so enormous that they are literally WIPED OUT financially.

I also hear about how the grown children of the parent have to also work forever to make a dent in the medical bill. They have their own stresses to deal with including having to raise a family, working etc. Then, on top of that, they have to deal with the ginormous mounting medical debts left by their parent.

I have also heard that even after a person passes away, the spouse or grown children are left to foot the ginormous medical bill. It seems like a lifetime of slavery for a crime they did not commit.

I think that if the illness was due to a genetic disorder or an accident ( like a car accident), the resentment would be less ( but probably no less frustrating).

However, if the illness arose due to preventable factors like diet/exercise etc.
the resentment would probably be a LOT more.

Also, why is it that even after two people get a divorce and one of them racks up an incredible debt, the other spouse may have to foot their debt? How fair is that? A lot of times, the debt could be medical bills too.

I am just wondering about these things. Maybe people should think twice before dismissing the RAW diet as "extreme". Being a life long indentured servant to someone else's medical bill debt due to the consequences of their SAD diet is one of the most extreme, unusual and unfair form of punishment that I have ever come across. A lot of times, insurance won't cover for everything either cuz it was a "pre existing" condition or whatever the clauses in the insurance is.

Raw may not single handedly create world peace but it does go a looooong way in preventing certain health conditions.

I think that it is also the smartest thing to do in terms of maintaining healthy finances and preventing financial decimation.

Has anyone here run into this situation where they are constantly having to work to pay off someone elses medical bills that could have been prevented due to diet? I am not talking about genetic disorders or accidents.

How do you feel about it?

I wonder if a family can "healthily" survive or continue in these sort of circumstances.

I hate to post such a downer but I really wonder what the reality is out there.

When my dad was at the height of being totally grief-stricken over the death of my mom (she died of cancer), he did say something to me one night that seemed like a bit of a lecture when it came to getting married, because, well, who really knows what bills you might have to end up paying. It bothered me a bit because it sounded so cynical at the time.

I can also tell you he was in the hospital every night and did pay what he had to because he loved her, *first and foremost.* They also both ate healthy SAD, got plenty of exercise before the whole thing--and the cancer was lung cancer, when she never smoked. =S It wasn't expected.

Many years later, my dad is doing well (in health, finances, spirits). He even very recently decided to become vegetarian. He does say he never wants to marry again, and part of that is from a paperwork perspective (of course the WHOLE story is not that simple...).

As was the case with the cancer and expenses, though--I can imagine a situation would feel different if a person in the family were self-destructive/freeloading/didn't care. But stress and resentment in themselves are very toxic...

I would always say to first try reasoning with a person--but if they aren't open to the reasoning (as raw can really bring to the surface sometimes), it's just tough.

I hope all is well, la_v--your tone feels much more serious than usual. I'm sending you a psychic strawberry smoothie with love!

If I were committed to someone enough to marry them, I'd pay for anything and everything they wanted and we would discuss such things.

[utopiankitchen.wordpress.com]

Where do you draw the line? Who decides who gets to live? If you engage in what some people call "risk taking" -- skiing, bicycling to work in an urban area, swimming (and hit your head on a rock or are attacked by a stingray or shark or contract a water borne pathogen), rock climbing, building houses for Habitat for Humanity (and fall off a roof), shopping for loss leaders at large chain store midnight madness sales on Black Friday, should your injuries be covered?

What if you live, by choice, in an area that exposes you to large numbers of carcinogens... I'm not thinking NYC, I'm thinking next to a large, corporate mega-farm in Indiana or Kansas. I read once that people who work on factory farms are exposed to more carcinogens than people who live in densely populated urban areas.

Bottom line:

Any society can be judged by how it treats its weakest members.

Punitive denial of medical care is cruel. We should strive to lead by example, with compassion.

"Be the change you want to see in the world."

-- Ghandi

Well, the way I see it it's kind of like Dentisty in the USA.

The rich get to keep their teeth. The poor get dentures.

I don't want my family doing anything heroic for me if I get sick. They know how I feel about such things.

love and compassion

these things are higher than the other things

if i focus on these things

and if i stay in this circle

then i will be guided

always

despite the formidable obstacles that are to come

I have seen friends die due lack their not having the money for life saving procedures. It is horrible to watch greed in action killing your loved ones.

I feel incredibly lucky to have found this way of life. However, it won't protect me from everything.

The bottom line in this country is that the rich get healthier and the poor get sicker. Study after study has confirmed this.

I am all for whatever brings more health, health care, education, love, and compassion to as many people as possible.

Everyone mentioning "the rich and the poor" forgot about the "MIDDLE CLASS". They are the ones getting hosed -- the rich (tax and spend liberal socialists) taking from the middle class (baby boomers who busted their a**es for 40 years - putting themselves through college, working overtime, commuting, etc - and now need their money for their kids college, to take care of their parents, and for their own retirements) and giving it to the poor. "They" are destroying the Middle Class, through the tax and spend liberal socialists.

So the Question is - "How do I feel about having to pay for other peoples lifestyles due to their poor choices or laziness (or bad luck or anything really)"?

And the Answer would be -- "I don't think I should be FORCED (by the nanny/entitlement/welfare/liberal/socialist government) to pay for others. I think my paying for others should be my CHOICE."

<< I think my paying for others should be my CHOICE." >>

I think so too as an individual. As a society I think we have to take care of people no matter what stupid mistakes they make. We can't have invalids lying around peeing on themselves. It isn't humane. I can't let other people's poor choices cause me to make inhumane choices.

My mother is the walking dead. Seriously, I don't know how she is still ticking. She has been chain smoking for forty years and drinking a bottle of booze a night for twenty years and before that a six pack a day. She eats the worst diet everyday. She looks and feels terrible but she is 68 years old and still goes to work everyday and can hang with the young people on outings (go figure). She was an abusive mother and I would be so pissed if I had to pay her medical bills or any bills, now or later. She has blown her money on fine cars, expensive restaurants, high rent, and expensive art while we have shopped resale and pinched every penny. At any rate she has paid into the system all these years so her money needs to be there for her when and if she needs it.

I didn't blink an eye when my father needed me. I took care of him in every way before he died. I got his money from SS, but it barely covered his medical expenses, depends and things like that. We were happy to pay for everything else he needed. He had a terrible diet for years and I was sad about the shape he was in but it didn't make a difference when it came to taking care of him. He had been a wonderful father and it was a joy to be there when he needed us.

hey all

thanks for your great posts
appreciate the different perspectives

i think it just depends on who you are, what experiences you have had and the person you may have to take care of

i think this is where karma comes in

if the person that you are now all of a sudden having to take care of was a good person to you ( like good parents ) or (good spouse) or ( good friend)

then it may be easier to take care of them

also, if they tried their best to take care of themselves ( instead of boozing, drugging, and whatnot)

then again, maybe the real test of the spirit

comes from taking care of people who were abusive towards you

and trying to look through that to see their common humanity

i don't think there are any easy answers

i think there are a lot of grey areas

and lee 123 was right

accidents also happen as well and so do genetic disorders

things that can't be helped

so... anyhow... the reason why this is an issue is because

whenever it comes to medical costs

its not just a few bucks we are talking about

it could be an entire person's life savings that could be potentially wiped out

especially if insurance doesn't cover it

so, whoever that person is ... that you may end up caring for...

let's just say that is when karma and selflessness lessons will be truly tried and learned

that is all i can say