Posted: May 19, 2017 3:14 pm
To me it comes down to "no harm, no foul", and exactly how you define that. From a public health perspective in single payer or tax-supported health care systems, the tax-paying public at large has an interest in what I eat, drink, smoke, or otherwise do to myself (including wearing a helmet while riding a bike), because my poor decisions can have an adverse financial effect on the public purse. In this country - not so much. You don't need to wear a helmet when riding a motorcycle here in Florida, but your health insurance might refuse to pay if you don't, in which case you, and your family, are fucked. So wear a helmet or buy more expensive insurance. But you can't have it both ways - you can't decry Nanny State Legislation and at the same time expect Other People to pick up the bill for your idiocy.
Another case in point, and dear to my rapacious, capitalist, DIY heart. I can't do things like fix electrical wiring or plumbing by myself, EVEN IF I do it to code and have it inspected by the government. I have to hire someone who has been licensed by the state. To me that is utter bullshit, because I'm competent enough to do all of that work myself, and, in my experience, I do a better job than the licensed contractors I've hired. Now, if I was to do it and NOT do it to building code and refused to have it inspected, then there's a fair argument that my actions may have a deleterious impact on others. I.E. my house may burn down and take out the neighbor. But if I do it to code and it passes inspection, then this insistence on certified, licensed contractors has no legitimacy. It's just a fucking scam to extort more money out of me.
Another case in point, and dear to my rapacious, capitalist, DIY heart. I can't do things like fix electrical wiring or plumbing by myself, EVEN IF I do it to code and have it inspected by the government. I have to hire someone who has been licensed by the state. To me that is utter bullshit, because I'm competent enough to do all of that work myself, and, in my experience, I do a better job than the licensed contractors I've hired. Now, if I was to do it and NOT do it to building code and refused to have it inspected, then there's a fair argument that my actions may have a deleterious impact on others. I.E. my house may burn down and take out the neighbor. But if I do it to code and it passes inspection, then this insistence on certified, licensed contractors has no legitimacy. It's just a fucking scam to extort more money out of me.