My argument is made against things you CAN control and DO know about. Sorry, I should have included that disclaimer.
So taking that into account now, is it still a bad example? Should I pay for somebody's lung cancer treatment after they have smoked a pack or more a day for the last 30 years? We have been well aware of the risks with smoking and we can almost for certain say the lung cancer has a high correlation to the 30 year smoking history. So yes, that person knowingly made that decision, why do I have to pay for it?
I'm sorry, but there has to be consequences for peoples decisions. We can't all grow up eating fast food, smoking, drinking, watching Netflix and getting fat knowing that our long term healthcare costs per individual that chooses that lifestyle will be astronomical. Society can't afford that.
Also, we are learning more and more about just how much being obese affects the rest of your health. Along with more correlations in the causes of cancer. Yes, there are many things we do not know, and I do not fault anyone for that. But a large percent of health issues and the costs associated with those in America are VERY well known and VERY much preventable. Period.
I would never want the government to step in and say, no you can't eat that twinkie because your BMI is over a certain level. I will always advocate for an individuals right to make a decision for themselves. However, if they know the risks and consequences associated with those decisions and still choose to make them, why in hell would that burden fall on the rest of the society?
I think you need to go read, or re-read, Adam Smith's book, The Wealth of Nations, or the principles of enlighten self interest. You have the wrong mindset that taking personal responsibility for your own actions is a "I've got mine - screw you" thing. Suffering? The freedom for individuals to make their own decisions and why we are a prosperous nation in the first place. It's why people came here. What do you propose as far as going in the right direction of individuality? Limiting consequences of known actions? Forced government redistribution? Maybe I just live in a very nice state (Texas), but down here, we do take care of our neighbor. We do help one another when in need. I would even say we do so more today than ever before. However when you knowingly do something on your own accord that is risky, you will pay for the consequences, not your neighbor. Maybe we should just take the approach of, hey, I know you smoked for 30 years knowing it will kill you eventually and will cost a ton in medical bills... and we told you that every single time you took a cigarette out of the pack, but we'll cover that cost for you! Hey, we know you were fully aware that when you robbed that store that the risks of getting caught were high and the consequence is going to jail, but you know what? We'll pay that for you too and you're free to go. You can't remove consequence from the decision making process, it's human nature.
I assure you, if you measured the amount of hours people in America spend talking about healthcare, health insurance, and employer insurance policies in the workplace, you'd really see how anxious we are as a society because we simply have no great guarantee of something as basic as healthcare. It's like walking on thin ice.
As a society, we decided we are (generally) ok to pay for a road even if someone speeds or drives drunk on it, or we are fine to pay for good public education even if many kids drop out of school, because on the whole, these things are a net benefit to society when more of the population can take advantage of it.
Why isn't healthcare one of those things? I used to date a woman who grew up in Canada, and she talked about how strong dental care was there, where all the kids were taught the right habits for dental care automatically. IT didn't matter what money you had, you all had access to not only good dental care, but also information about what makes your teeth go bad, etc.
Similarly, in the US maybe we would actually have less obesity with a combination of preventative care and more education about some of these things. I'm not saying we'd eradicate it of course. But we'd most definitely have less.
I can't imagine someone would be even more irresponsible with their health if medical care was free. Only because the opposite isn't true (people aren't less reckless just because medical care is so expensive)
So taking that into account now, is it still a bad example? Should I pay for somebody's lung cancer treatment after they have smoked a pack or more a day for the last 30 years? We have been well aware of the risks with smoking and we can almost for certain say the lung cancer has a high correlation to the 30 year smoking history. So yes, that person knowingly made that decision, why do I have to pay for it?
I'm sorry, but there has to be consequences for peoples decisions. We can't all grow up eating fast food, smoking, drinking, watching Netflix and getting fat knowing that our long term healthcare costs per individual that chooses that lifestyle will be astronomical. Society can't afford that.
Also, we are learning more and more about just how much being obese affects the rest of your health. Along with more correlations in the causes of cancer. Yes, there are many things we do not know, and I do not fault anyone for that. But a large percent of health issues and the costs associated with those in America are VERY well known and VERY much preventable. Period.
I would never want the government to step in and say, no you can't eat that twinkie because your BMI is over a certain level. I will always advocate for an individuals right to make a decision for themselves. However, if they know the risks and consequences associated with those decisions and still choose to make them, why in hell would that burden fall on the rest of the society?
I think you need to go read, or re-read, Adam Smith's book, The Wealth of Nations, or the principles of enlighten self interest. You have the wrong mindset that taking personal responsibility for your own actions is a "I've got mine - screw you" thing. Suffering? The freedom for individuals to make their own decisions and why we are a prosperous nation in the first place. It's why people came here. What do you propose as far as going in the right direction of individuality? Limiting consequences of known actions? Forced government redistribution? Maybe I just live in a very nice state (Texas), but down here, we do take care of our neighbor. We do help one another when in need. I would even say we do so more today than ever before. However when you knowingly do something on your own accord that is risky, you will pay for the consequences, not your neighbor. Maybe we should just take the approach of, hey, I know you smoked for 30 years knowing it will kill you eventually and will cost a ton in medical bills... and we told you that every single time you took a cigarette out of the pack, but we'll cover that cost for you! Hey, we know you were fully aware that when you robbed that store that the risks of getting caught were high and the consequence is going to jail, but you know what? We'll pay that for you too and you're free to go. You can't remove consequence from the decision making process, it's human nature.