One of the aggravating aspects of our society is the lack of responsibility in many of our fellow citizens that comes back to bite those of us standing on the sidelines. The subject arose because of the recent story of the two year old child who found a loaded gun in his mother’s pocketbook. Playing with it, he unknowingly shot her and unfortunately killed her. Do I feel sorry for the woman who was shot by her two year old? Not really. It was irresponsibility and stupidity on her part that resulted in this terrible accident. I do, however, feel sorry for the child who killed his mother and will have to live with that knowledge the rest of his life, even though it was certainly not his fault.
According to the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, there were over 31,000 homicides, suicides, and accidental shooting deaths in 2010. The unintentional deaths from guns “only” totaled 606, but from 2005-2010 were nearly 3800. Over 1300 of these were in people under 25 years of age and 8 percent of accidental gun deaths were caused by children under the age of 6. In 2010, there were also nearly 75,000 Americans treated in Emergency Rooms for non-fatal gunshot wounds.
With accidental gunshot wounds, who should pay the costs for the treatment of those injured. If a child locates a gun and shoots a family member, a friend, or him or herself, obviously the child cannot pay for the care of the victim. But should you and I be responsible for the payment which can be hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars when there is a brain injury and a need for long-term rehabilitation. I don’t feel that I should suffer an increase in my taxes or insurance premiums because of other people’s stupidity or lack of responsibility.
The same goes for injuries sustained by alcohol or drug impaired drivers and any passengers who were injured in the accidents after allowing the driver to operate the vehicle. According to the CDC, 30 people die every day in crashes involving alcohol-impaired drivers, over 10,300 in 2012 alone. Injuries are even more common and the annual cost of alcohol-related crashes was estimated to be $59 billion in 2012. (Drugs other than alcohol were believed to be involved in about 18 percent of motor vehicle deaths.)
Another act of irresponsibility that results in injuries and high medical costs is the failure of drivers or passengers to wear seatbelts when they’re in a car. This simple omission costs billions of dollars yearly in medical care. Again, should it be you and I who foot the bill? Cars and guns are dangerous weapons and people who cause injuries because they are irresponsible should have to pay for their disregard of the risks. Jail time, loss of gun or driver’s licenses for considerable periods should also be part of the penalty for their actions.
And how about smokers who are supposed to have screening chest CT scans to detect early lung cancer. This is estimated to cost Medicare $9.3 billion over five years, plus spending from Medicaid, and private insurance companies. Add in the treatment costs for cancers that are discovered and the evaluation of incidental findings and the costs skyrocket even further.
There is also risky sexual behavior or sharing of needles by drug abusers causing AIDs, for which we pick up the tab. Or people who are obese and continue to overeat and refuse to exercise. Payment for the treatment of their diabetes and heart disease comes out of our pockets.
Perhaps, from a moral standpoint it’s right that we pay for the costs of irresponsible actions by our fellow citizens that result in illness or injury. After all, we are our brother’s keeper. But it sure doesn’t feel right having to spend my money because of other people’s stupidity or irresponsibility.
Resurrecting Democracy
www.robertlevinebooks.com
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Political junkie, Vietnam vet, neurologist- three books on aging and dementia. Book on health care reform in 2009- Shock Therapy for the American Health Care System. Book on the need for a centrist third party- Resurrecting Democracy- A Citizen’s Call for a Centrist Third Party published in 2011. Aging Wisely, published in August 2014 by Rowman and Littlefield. Latest book- The Uninformed Voter published May 2020