On Dec 20, 3:10 pm, rw wrote:
That's a a good argument for mandated universal health insurance.

There are lot of good arguments for universal health insurance; but i
don't see that one.


Your argument troubles me, because people do all kinds of dangerous
things (dangerous to themselves, that is) -- not just refusing to wear
seat belts. I don't want to see a bunch of laws telling us what we can't
do, or must do, for our own good.

There's a whole bunch of grey area between that black & white.
Somewhere (and I'm not saying where), a line must be drawn between
personal freedom and public cost. It's not a question of if, but
where.

Heck, I wouldn't flinch at paying an extra $5 in taxes to allow some
idiot biker the freedom to smash his unhelmeted head into a curb; but
I'd draw the line if that was going to cost me $1000, and I'd be
screaming for mandatory helmet laws. Unfortunately, somebody has to
place a monetary value on stuff like that, and the politically
palatable answer will be somewhere in between.