Everyday Ethics

One of the core principles of everyday ethics and a principle purpose of this site is to help people to recognize ethical questions and revelations of ethical knowledge in their own everyday experiences. Sometimes this is harder than others. Recently, a great example of everyday ethics appeared in the news, when a story was published about a man who froze to death in Michigan after his electricity was shut off due to an inability to pay. If ever there were a case of everyday ethics, this is it.

Marvin Schur was 93 years old and a longtime resident of Bay City, Michigan. It has been a cold winter in Michigan, and Mr. Schur fell approximately $1100 behind in his electricity payments. Repeated past due notices were ignored, and the local utility elected to turn off Mr. Schur’s electricity, despite the sub-zero temperatures forecasted. His neighbors found him, and the temperature inside his home was below 32 degrees. According to medical experts, this was a slow, painful death.

At first glance, one might rightly be appalled by the actions of the utility company. It seems like common sense and basic decency not to turn off someone’s electricity in the midst of a wave of freezing weather. Further, city officials had the audacity to claim that they had done nothing wrong, and that the man’s neighbors ought to have been more attentive. This type of brazen inability to be accountable is the kind of behavior that makes critics of bureaucracy cringe. It seems obvious to anyone with any sense that the utility company is responsible for this man’s death.

However, good ethical thinking means we have to consider all sides of an issue and evaluate their merit, even if we think certain points of view are obviously absurd. And to be fair, the power company did not simply turn off this man’s power at the first sign of non-payment. $1100 in past due utilities is likely close to a year’s worth of utility bills. This is ample time for someone to address their financial difficulties and make arrangements. Adding to the depressing nature of this story is that electrical bills with cash clipped to them were found in Mr. Schulz’s freezing kitchen. The likely explanation is that at the age of 93, he was simply not competent to manage his own affairs. As crazy as it sounds, his death may be best explained by the fact that he simply forgot to pay his bill again, and again, and again.

Despite the fact that $1100 is an insane amount to owe in electrical bills, and that Mr. Schulz’s mental competence was clearly a factor in his death, this does not excuse the actions of the utility company. Two issues remain, awareness of which can help us extract the ethical message from this sad tale. First, a utility worker was at Mr. Schulz’s home ten days prior to the disconnection of the electricity. Presumably, no contact was had between them. Had it been protocol to speak with the utility customer rather than install a delimiter device and then leave in silence, the utility company might have realized that Mr. Schulz was not competent to care for his own well-being.

Secondly, anyone with basic common sense ought to realize that if you are turning off the electricity to a home with electric heat during a week of sub-zero temperatures, anything living in that home short of a polar bear is going to die. The utility company is directly responsible for this man’s death because they refused to take the time to speak to him and assess the situation, and because they failed to think about the consequences of their actions. The huge bill doesn’t excuse the fact that killing the heat is killing the resident during a cold Michigan winter.

The lesson here is simple. No matter what the circumstances, we ought to treat people like people, granting them a certain degree of respect and consideration regardless of what the situation may be. In addition, we ought to think carefully about what the consequences of our actions will be, and whether they are acceptable. These seem like simple ideas, but the case of Mr. Schulz clearly indicates that most people have not heard this simple ethical message, and that failure to recognize our duty to persons and our obligation to think critically can have fatal consequences.

About the Author

Elijah Weber is a graduate student at Bowling Green State University. He holds a Master's degree in philosophy from Colorado State University, and Bachelor’s degrees in sociology and philosophy from Chapman Univerity. He currently lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan with his wife Laura, his son Brandon, age two and a half, and two cats, both of whom are mentally deranged.