[dontbeevil1992]

surely there's some middle ground between infinity and a paltry $3500. in our legal system there are concepts like damages, emotional damages, pain and suffering. it's not just about how much wages you missed out on. or does all that just go out the window because these are members of society who aren't paid a lot for their labor?

[loonster]

The problem is it's a class action against the government that the people elected. The victims are both the petitioner and the defendant. Regardless of the amount paid, the only beneficiaries are the lawyers.

[tzs]

I think you might be failing to take into account that the population of Flint (the ones getting paid) is slightly less than 1% of the population of Michigan (the ones paying).

It is essentially equivalent to a retroactive insurance system. It is as if everyone in Michigan had been required to buy "State appointed manager mishandles water system causing lead poisoning" insurance, and Flint is now having a claim paid under that insurance.

[ClumsyPilot]

"Regardless of the amount paid, the only beneficiaries are the lawyers."

If government destroyed your house through negligence, say military plane dropped a bomb on it, would you want to be made whole, or would you still believe that "the only beneficiaries are the lawyers"?

[PascLeRasc]

Did someone run on an agenda of making the water more acidic?