The Lonestar Times' SB-1028: Buckle Up! Or Else! entry is somewhat naive, in my opinion. They opine that Senator Kirk Watson's bill to make it mandatory for an adult in the back seat to wear a seat buckle is just another example of the expansion of government into private lives. I'm all for small government, myself, but this is really a matter of consistency. Because of the existence of health care and insurance, it is only logical that we require all safety measures reasonably enforceable. After all, if we are potentially paying for someone's hospital bill, it is not fair to us, the taxpayers, for that hospital bill to be increased by neglect of something so simple as buckling up.
As a right-leaning blog, their intended audience of fellow right-wingers might argue that this is justification for not having mandatory insurance or health care. I disagree; to me, matters of public health supersede individual rights in cases such as this.
The Lonestar Times also implies that this is not the best time to be using resources on such trivial matters, and I must agree with that. However, their sarcastic tone ("this incredibly important, life saving, URGENT bill") I find a little misplaced, as the whole point of making adults buckle up is exactly that--to save lives (although the cynic in me finds their next statement, an implication that the true purpose of the bill is to create an additional source of revenue for the senators, entirely plausible).
No comments:
Post a Comment