DTux5249 t1_je8gxnj wrote on March 30, 2023 at 4:18 AM

Reply to comment by nagmay in ELI5: What is Universal Healthcare by Thegreatcornholio459

>Imagine if firefighters would only save your home if you had insurance provided through your current employer...

Wasn't that actually the case in early US history?

BillyCloneasaurus t1_je8ol31 wrote on March 30, 2023 at 5:42 AM

Mostly an urban legend that has since been debunked

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wif1EAgEQKI

https://www.tomscott.com/corrections/firemarks/

USS_Barack_Obama t1_je8xbxv wrote on March 30, 2023 at 7:38 AM

Don't know about US history but, apparently, in Ancient Rome Marcus Crassus used to do this:

> Once a house caught fire, Crassus would send his slaves to fight the fire. Once they arrived at the house, they would only put out the fire if the owner of the house sold the building to Crassus. Crassus would then sell the house back to the original owner at a marked up price.