Sunday, October 16, 2011

The hidden costs of choice

"If personal responsibility means being responsible, then it is not inconsistent with that notion to require people to make the mature decision to purchase health insurance. Sometimes a respect for the autonomy of others means the government needs to step in with a law or regulation, if only to make sure we pay the costs of our own decisions.
But when people are allowed to make bad health choices and not have health insurance, Paul’s approach puts the rest of us in a bind. We can either choose to watch our neighbors suffer – drive by the scene of an accident without calling 911 – or we can help and foot the medical bills ourselves later. We shouldn’t let the Libertarians’ fixation on choice force the rest of us into making that kind of decision. " More @ Boston Globe

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