6a. Re: Smoking Bans - WAS Jean Scott's Frugal Vegas BLOG - 13 JAN 2008
Date: Fri Jan 18, 2008 8:52 pm ((PST))Um, this may be stating the obvious, but how does a person's not
wearing a helmet or seatbelt affect ME? It doesn't. A person's
smoking indoors in my immediate vicinity does affect me because of
the stink and the secondhand smoke's effect on my health.There's no comparison.
Let's see ... It's legal to drive, and it's legal to get drunk. So
does that mean it should be legal to drive drunk? Hell with the
consequences, it's my right, dammit!
Actually, people who do this sort of thing (not wear helmet, seatbelt, choose to smoke, etc etc) affects everyone... through insurance. If you choose not to carry insurance, then I guess it doesn't affect you. But if you do, then your rates are usually higher to cover the risky behaviors of others that generate more payments from the insurance company - that's what insurance is all about, "risk sharing" -- if they could exclude people with risky behaviors from getting health insurance, then it would not matter - but most people (not all) get their health ins. thru some kind of group where they can't be excluded.
And if you choose NOT to carry insurance, you MAY be affecting everyone else as well - unless you can pay for your care when you're sick / injured. Those who can't pay, fairly or not, are "covered" for care that MUST be given, and then the cost is distributed among those who can and/or DO pay, either directly, or via their insurance premiums.
I'm not saying this system is fair, but it IS most definitely the way it is.
--BG
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