"Push the button Max!"
by Gary Becker
There’s one about every twelve feet all along the main drive of the small beach Florida beach community I call home. The State of Florida spent millions of dollars installing these havens of safety but nobody seems to be using them.
You know what I’m talking about, pedestrian crosswalks. They look like little red brick walkways leading across my town's Gulf Boulevard with large railroad crossing sized yellow lights that begin to flash at the push of a button. They are designed to prevent you from becoming embedded into the grill of a minivan rented by a family from Frostbite Falls who were too busy looking for the entrance of a fast food restaurant to notice you trying to cross the street.
It never fails, every time I’m either walking or driving along Gulf Boulevard I see someone scampering across the street dodging Buicks with a cup of coffee in one hand and a fully inflated likeness of Shamu the Killer Whale under the other arm and not using a pedestrian crosswalk. Instead of walking a few feet in either direction to take advantage of the additional safety a fully marked and functioning pedestrian crosswalk offers, these future hood ornaments would rather rest their fate in the hands of a driver who maybe in the middle of text messaging his bookie.
This is not the only time the government has spent huge piles of cash to protect ourselves from each other. Take the lowly automobile seat belt for instance. The government dictated that car manufacturers put seat belts in every vehicle and people like me who have walked away unharmed from several nasty accidents can attest they work but nearly half the drivers on our roads don’t use their seat belts. Drivers complain the belts are uncomfortable or theorize that if they drive off the many area bridges it will be easier to get out of a sinking car when you are not buckled in. Unfortunately sailing through the front windshield after your car has been run into by someone who has been swimming in a sea of tequila all day is far more uncomfortable and far more likely.
Now the government wants to further protect us by giving us all health insurance at a cost of trillions of dollars. Everyone should have health insurance but studies indicate that even if given free health care many people still will not seek a doctor’s care until they are extremely ill or seriously injured. I can personally attest to this. I had health insurance provided through my employer but never saw a doctor until I met my wife who proceeded to tell me that much to my surprise I was neither perfect nor immortal. I now visit my doctors on a regular basis and in doing so have probably prevented a serious illness or two.
The bottom line is that no matter how much money the government, which is you and me, throws at a problem, unless you and I take some measure of responsibility, that money is being wasted. The next time you cross Gulf Boulevard, use a crosswalk. The next time you get into a car or truck, buckle up. And finally, let’s all work together to create a health care system that we can all afford and all use.
