[kneebonian]

The whole point of this country is if you want to eat garbage, balloon up to 600 pounds and die of a heart attack at 43, you can! You are free to do so. To me, that's beautiful. - Ron Swanson

[stouset]

And then we came to the collective realization that—while great in theory—letting people unintentionally suicide themselves through carelessness and neglect imposes costs borne by the rest of society.

[seanp2k2]

Then COVID happened and we un-came to that realization, especially when one person’s decision affected others in a very direct and deadly way.

[nemo44x]

What about people that make healthy choices and live long enough to bear cancer a few times, shake off a few other diseases, have hips replaced, collect endless Medicare and SS payments, etc?

The person who blows their heart out at 53 probably costs a whole lot less VS what they put into society.

[eikenberry]

The problem isn't that people don't realize the behavioral issue here, it is that "we" can't decide on out to best mitigate the costs. People don't really seem able to address this as absolutists keep dominating the discussions not allowing any progress as that invariably requires compromises they are unwilling to make.

[DANmode]

No implied value whatsoever in Darwinism anymore, or what's the story?

[pengaru]

The primary effect of seatbelt laws is fundraising through pointless fines.

And some informed folks have even argued that in modern vehicles airbags are so effective seatbelts could be worsening accident outcomes. (Elon Musk made this point in one of his podcast appearances re: Teslas)

[consumer451]

"Greed is good" - Gordon Gekko