Scalia on Retirees Losing Their Health Insurance: 'I Can't Feel Bad About It

[hue]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nan-aron/scalia-on-retirees-losing_b_6354340.html?ncid=txtlnkusaolp00000592

In Apple Grove, West Virginia, there are some retirees from a chemical plant whose Christmas wishes probably include this: They want to keep the health insurance they were promised.

The United Steelworkers union negotiated a series of collective bargaining agreements stipulating that retired employees "will receive a full company contribution towards the cost of [health] benefits." The union believed the benefits were guaranteed for life. The company contends it could take away these benefits whenever it chose--which it did in 2007.

The retirees challenged that action. The retirees won in the lower courts, and now their case is pending before the Supreme Court.

As USW President Leo Gerard points out in a column for the union's blog:

The agreement never says the retiree loses the benefit after so many years or must pay a portion of the costs. It also doesn't say benefits earned by retirees over their work lives end with the expiration of any given collective bargaining agreement.

In that same blog post, Gerard quotes Freel Tackett, the lead plaintiff in the suit and one of those who helped negotiate the agreements, as follows:

"We have several people who passed away," as they awaited the outcome. "We just don't know how many of them died as a result of not going to the doctor when needed or not getting medication they needed" because they couldn't afford the insurance.

Is there anyone who simply wouldn't care what happens to these retirees? Apparently, yes. During oral arguments, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia offered up the functional equivalent of "Bah, Humbug!"

Said Scalia:

You know, the nice thing about a contract case of this sort is you can't feel bad about it. Whoever loses deserves to lose. I mean, this thing [the duration of the health benefits] is obviously an important feature. Both sides knew it was left unaddressed, so, you know, whoever loses deserves to lose for casting this upon us when it could have been said very clearly in the contract. Such an important feature. So I hope we'll get it right, but, you know, I can't feel bad about it.

[Mike Nelson]

1. Scalia should be...

...shamed into retirement.

[hue]

2. Scalia has no shame/cannot experience shame. So no can do.

Sociopathic judges and politicians do not experience shame. They really are different from those who can experience the full range of emotions especially those calling for empathy.

[cstanleytech]

14. For many reasons just not this one as in this case atleast he is right as both

parties screwed up by not specifically stating if the benefits were to remain for life.
Now if you will excuse me I need to go vomit as agreeing with Scalia over something just isnt agreeing with me.

[shraby]

3. Scalia needs to leave the court because of advancing dementia.

It's showing up more with every utterance.

[LiberalArkie]

4. The union could have put the "for life of the employee" but they did not because the company

would not have agreed. They got what they could.

[Faux pas]

5. What does he care?

He's got his.

[Fred Sanders]

6. Scalia is the judicial equvalent of Cheney....common traits including missing a heart.

[Thor_MN]

7. I'm starting to believe that Scalia only feels bad when he misses a chance to screw over people

I don't think he particularly enjoys giving benefits to corporations and the wealthy, he only enjoys destroying ordinary people.

[GeorgeGist]

8. I hope I live long enough to ...

Enjoy Scalia's obituary.

[MurrayDelph]

10. May this be true

even if you were to die next Friday.

(not wishing any ill to you, of course; I just know what I'd like for Christmas).

[world wide wally]

9. Scalia is just a crucial tool of the aristocracy doing what he can (which is a lot)

to advance their cause.
He is really quite shallow and predictable.

[OrwellwasRight]

11. He's a terrible legal writer.

But he apparently fancies himself a genius. I think this is typical of egotistical sociopaths.

[sakabatou]

12. He has no soul

[Pakid]

13. We will know the answer to that when he gets to Hell

If he has a soul chances are it will get to burn in Hell until all the people he has wrong forgive him. That could take a long time!

[Derek V]

15. He Can't Feel

/

[Enthusiast]

16. K&R! Scalia is not just a hypocrite. Scalia is the Louie Gohmert of the supreme court. nt

[NastyRiffraff]

17. Times like this I wish there WERE a hell..

The eternal, fiery kind, not the namby-pamby "Hell is not knowing Christ" kind. Scalia deserves no less.