The Cost of Survival

Some people put themselves in life-and-death situations.

Sometimes, they walk away safely. Sometimes, a person may need help.

Police, firemen, rescue workers, and medics come to the aid of people in trouble. Their efforts can cost a lot of money.

The adventurer should be responsible to pay for the expenses.

In 2014, there were two rescue missions.

1.) A family was in danger. They sailed 900 miles off the coast of Mexico. Their child became ill. The family was rescued by the U.S. Navy, the Coast Guard, and Air National Guard.

2.) A man traveled 4,000 feet underground. He became injured by a rock. It took rescue teams 11 days to rescue him.

You can argue that people should be stopped from putting themselves in danger. When something goes wrong, people need to be rescued.

In 2012, millions of people hiked, climbed, and boated in national parks, but only 2,876 needed help. 1,600 were emergencies caused by risky choices.

Someone has to pay for these rescues. The rescue of the family stranded at sea cost $663,000.

WOW!

Some people get in hurt accidentally. Some people make dangerous choices and get hurt.

We need to treat these two groups differently. People who take extreme risks should pay for their rescue operation.

In New Hampshire, people who get lost or injured because of reckless behavior must pay costs of their rescue services.

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Howard Paul, a spokesman for the National Association for Search and Rescue, says, “We know that when people believe that they are going to receive a large bill for an SAR mission, they delay a call for help or they refuse to call for help.”

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Not everyone agrees that people should be responsible for the costs of their rescue.

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Second Lieutenant in the California Air National Guard who helped rescue the family at sea put it this way: “We’re out there to save lives. You can’t put a price on that.”

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Those who do not support paying for rescue missions need to consider:

1.) Many rescue workers have died while saving others.

2.) When people have to pay for their rescue, it will discourage them from making dangerous choices.

That can only be a good thing!

In the end, taxpayers must may pay for rescuing people. Maybe there are better way to spend our money!

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