Who should pay for rescues? Poll

[tyler811]

What's the cost of a life—or really, what's the cost of saving one? When climbers, hikers, skiers, and rafters get caught in tight situations and need to be found and rescued, the answer can be a large number of taxpayer dollars. Recently suspended efforts to locate two climbers lost on Oregon's Mount Hood have re-raised questions about who should foot the bill for search-and-rescue operations, which can sometimes rack up large expenses for everything from helicopters to hours of overtime pay. "Depending on conditions, it can cost a lot," says Gerry Gaumer, a spokesman for the National Park Service, which spent nearly $5 million on search and rescue in 2008. "A lot of it depends on things like how much equipment you use. You're endangering your own people too."

http://www.newsweek.com/id/227009?GT1=43002

 

[Patranus]

Those utilizing the service.
It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that it is dangerous to climb mountains in winter. It also doesn't take a rocket scientist to check the weather report.

 

[TridenT]

Tax payers. Get over it.

 

[FoBoT]

if we all gotta pay everyones healthcare, then paying for everyones search&rescue seems ok

 

[FuzzyDunlop]

the people doing the climbing should have to buy a shit load of expensive insurance. or else they will pay outa thier own pocket when the choppers come to pick them up.

 

[Crono]

Recreational risk takers/thrill seekers should pay.

 

[SacrosanctFiend]

Tax payers. Get over it.

Should taxpayers pay for your froot loops?

 

[bobross419]

if we all gotta pay everyones healthcare, then paying for everyones search&rescue seems ok

Not to get too P&N, but you already pay for everyone's law enforcement and firefighters through your taxes. This is all just part and parcel of taking care of your fellow humans and doing what is morally right. What a dick.

 

[Crono]

Should taxpayers pay for your froot loops?

I'm pretty sure taxpayers = his parents (or himself) in that particular scenario.

 

[bobross419]

the people doing the climbing should have to buy a shit load of expensive insurance. or else they will pay outa thier own pocket when the choppers come to pick them up.

Dumbass Insurance sounds pretty sweet. I might start up a Dumbass Insurance company. Call it DIC, because thats what you'll get from us after you are too much of a dumbass to read the fine print lol.

 

[bobross419]

I'm pretty sure taxpayers = his parents (or himself) in that particular scenario.

Oh god... I won't pay for his fruit loops, but I'll chip in a couple bucks for some acne cream.

 

[lokiju]

I think that of all the social BS programs in the country that it seems a bit hypocritical to want to make saving peoples lives that are in direct danger as an issue is laughable.

 

[TridenT]

Oh god... I won't pay for his fruit loops, but I'll chip in a couple bucks for some acne cream.

You're going to need to chip in a couple thousand because nothing that is OTC will work for me. I need to see a dermatologist to get rid of this stuff. :/

 

[KeithTalent]

The only people I have a problem with are the ones that go out of bounds and take extra risks, then get their dumbasses lost or hurt and expect the taxpayers to foot the bill.

People that are following the normal course of things and happen to fall in a hole, get trampled by a herd of deer, or whatever, are ok in my books because things happen.

KT

 

[skace]

You're going to need to chip in a couple thousand because nothing that is OTC will work for me. I need to see a dermatologist to get rid of this stuff. :/

Have you tried acne.org and followed that process to the letter?

 

[darkxshade]

Case by case basis... For ex. If you climb a mountain, get hit by a snowstorm and get stranded then no... if there's a snowstorm and you insist on climbing and get stranded then yes.

 

[bobross419]

You're going to need to chip in a couple thousand because nothing that is OTC will work for me. I need to see a dermatologist to get rid of this stuff. :/

Sorry to hear it bud...

Might be interesting to take a few plays out of the ebay book...

Ask for donations on ebay, tell them you'll send them a thank you card or something (maybe zit juice if they donate more than $100). A good sob story might help get some more donations. Document this all and cell it to some website for a few bucks.

Honestly though, that sucks... I had real bad acne in high school

 

[PlasmaBomb]

You're going to need to chip in a couple thousand because nothing that is OTC will work for me. I need to see a dermatologist to get rid of this stuff. :/

Stop eating crap/fruit loops...

moar fruit.

 

[bobross419]

Case by case basis... For ex. If you climb a mountain, get hit by a snowstorm and get stranded then no... if there's a snowstorm and you insist on climbing and get stranded then yes.

What question are you answering?

 

[ChaoZ]

Being alive is a health hazard also. They should tax that.

 

[skace]

It's easy to criticize a system by looking at the worst possible and least likely example. I would be far more interested in what the common scenario is. Is it someone living in a wooded area just getting lost near home? If so, then no I don't think they should need special "I live in a wooded area insurance".

I also don't think we should discourage exercise by having ridiculous insurance for anyone who hikes in a country full of fatties. They should be giving out medals to anyone who can move for longer than an hour these days.

 

[KeithTalent]

Being alive is a health hazard also. They should tax that.

Um, they do...

KT

 

[JeffreyLebowski]

Well if it is a service operated by the local governments, then it is already funded by tax dollars. Making people pay for it that need it would be a waste, be cause all they have to do is not pay or file for bankruptcy and guess who's footing the bill, the tax payer. All you are doing is adding another expense.

 

[darkxshade]

What question are you answering?

Who should pay

first case taxpayer... 2nd case, the dumbass pays

 

[sygyzy]

This was covered recently in a Gizmodo or Engadget post and one commenter really caught my eye. He said that his department (fire, S&R, county, whatever) experimented with making the victim's pay the cost. Usually it was a lot, like tens of thousands. Well what this resulted in was people were aware of how much a rescue cost and even if they were in a bad situation (even ones that were not their fault, like an unexpected storm or they fell off a cliff), they wouldn't call because it was so expensive. So you had people dying. So he said despite the lame calls and weekend warriors getting in over your head, he was convinced that you can't charge people.