Dismisal Drives Debt-Ridden Ex-Employee Over The Edge
By now the news is out regarding the shooting in Connecticut that left nine dead. But let's not gloss over the perpetrator's situation/mindset:
This guy was drowning in debt and his outlets was his job and guns. And truth be told, the job thing wasn't exactly working out:
But with his job gone and his bills piling up, he had only one outlet left. Not to say what he did was right (it wasn't) but we need to start having serious conversations about debt in this country. To date the solutions have been either (a) lower taxes and let people figure it out on their own; (b) change work benefits and let people figure it out on their on; or (c) tell people to get a second and/or third job and let them figure it out on their own.
Thing is, most people don't know how they got into debt (it's not like they planned it), so when are we go to start working on that aspect as opposed to assuming that LESS EXPENSES and/or MORE INCOME = DEBT PROBLEM FIXED for everyone who owes an ungodly amount of money?
Public records show that Mr. Thornton graduated from East Hartford High School in 1996. He ran into financial trouble several years later and filed for bankruptcy in Connecticut in 2000. At the time, Mr. Thompson owed money to a dozen creditors, including American Express, Sprint and Sallie Mae.
This guy was drowning in debt and his outlets was his job and guns. And truth be told, the job thing wasn't exactly working out:
Joanne Hannah, who said her daughter Kristi had been dating the suspect for the past eight years, said that Mr. Thornton, who is black, had been having problems with co-workers. “Things were being put on the bathroom walls,” including “a hangman noose,” Ms. Hannah said.
But with his job gone and his bills piling up, he had only one outlet left. Not to say what he did was right (it wasn't) but we need to start having serious conversations about debt in this country. To date the solutions have been either (a) lower taxes and let people figure it out on their own; (b) change work benefits and let people figure it out on their on; or (c) tell people to get a second and/or third job and let them figure it out on their own.
Thing is, most people don't know how they got into debt (it's not like they planned it), so when are we go to start working on that aspect as opposed to assuming that LESS EXPENSES and/or MORE INCOME = DEBT PROBLEM FIXED for everyone who owes an ungodly amount of money?
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