but why should everybody in society be
asked to pay for one individual's stubborn streak or stupidity?


Why indeed?
This is typical liberal claptrap. They insist that the government must bail out
every stupid person who gets hurt or poor, then they bitch about it when
everyone does not follow their idea of what is safe or prudent.


This is the single biggist fear I have about socialized medicine. Once it
becomes someone else's money we may be barred from doing anything that is in
the slightest bit dangerous, determined by people who think going to the movies
is about as adventuresome as we should be.

Why indeed?
This is typical liberal claptrap. They insist that the government must bail
out
every stupid person who gets hurt or poor, then they bitch about it when
everyone does not follow their idea of what is safe or prudent.

Speaking as a liberal, that's not at all what I said!

My approach would be: 1) Nobody is required to take basic safety precautions.
Want to go out in an open boat without a PFD, ride a motorcycle without a
helmet, or drive around without a seatbelt? Cool.
It's your life.

However, when lack of a seatbelt, PFD, or helmet leads directly to a condition
where you become a public expense.....sorry. You made an informed decision to
take the risk knowing that death or injury were possible results. Total
personal freedom = total personal responsibility.

If you want the public resources to help in time of emergency, it only makes
sense to
abide by the basic steps that would reduce the liklihood those resources would
have to be used.

Now there *are* some rules and requirements that need to be enforced. Those
that would likely impact innocent bystanders. For example, you should be
reasonably required to show running lights after dark, or make sure the brakes
are working on your car. It's not just your own life on the line.