Posted on 06/13/2005 8:40:46 AM PDT by Nasty McPhilthy
AMEN to that! A society that aims to protect adults from their own idiocy does much more harm than good. What are we going to see next, doctors sending state troopers door-to-door to make sure all registered diabetics are taking their insulin, and hauling them off to jail if they refuse? Seriously, stories like this can make civil libertarians of the rightest of right-wingers.
I have no problem with people who want to be stupid and don't care if they're seriously maimed or killed. However, people who survive car crashes without having worn seatbelts are virtually always more seriously injured than those who do wear them. That means bigger medical bills, which translates to higher insurance costs for everyone. So, the stupidity of some leads to higher out-of-pocket insurance costs to everyone else.
Back when I had a car and had to pay for insurance, I always believed that those who wish to take such stupid risks should either form their insurance pool for idiots or at least get out of the one for sane people.
I'd have no objection to a separate or non-existent insurance pool for dummies, and I'd make it crystal clear that not a dime of government money would be spent on their care if they were to be injured. But the power-grabbing state officials who made these laws made no mention of insurance concerns at all, leaving one to believe they just want to play Daddy.
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