Dan McLaughlin

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To Home Page Latest Newsletter Column Archives Click to get these columns for your local paper	Post Comments Below © 2007 Daniel J. McLaughlin Where You Live I live in a rural area that is not an economic powerhouse. It has a fairly low cost of living, but also has a relatively stagnant economy. It is not the land of opportunity. It is our choice, however, to stay. It is home for our family, we enjoy the slower pace, the people, the weather, the more rural life. One of the positive characteristics of this region is that it very seldom has a natural disaster of major proportions. Significant tornadoes occur in the area, but they are exceedingly rare. The last truly devastating flood happened 30 years ago. Winters may be cold and long sometimes, but there are few disastrous blizzards, and most people get through them unscathed. We don’t suffer from hurricanes, other than peripheral bad weather effects. We are very lucky, or rather, we made good choices, at least with regard to living where disasters are few and far between. Other people are not so fortunate, weather-wise. They make their homes in risky places, and no matter how unpleasant or dangerous it may be for some, they wouldn’t dream of leaving. There are people who live in deserts or tropical areas where temperatures regularly reach over 100 degrees. Some people live in flood plains and get flooded out on a regular basis. There are people who live in areas that get hammered by hurricanes almost every year, at least once. Others live with the constant threat of killer tornadoes. Each area has its own charm, its attractions, its benefits, as well as its drawbacks. An individual’s choice of where to live should take all of these things into consideration, and each person should be free to make his or her own decisions about it. Those decisions, however, should include all of the costs of their choices. Someone living in the desert should not expect someone living in a moist, temperate climate to subsidize his air conditioning bill or pay for providing water for desert living. They should be able to get whatever water they want, but they should also have to pay the high price of getting the water where it doesn’t occur naturally. Water in the desert should be very expensive because it is so scarce there. People choosing to live on a flood plain should be free to live there if they want. They should, however, not expect others to pick up the tab for the damage that they know they will incur on a regular basis. Government subsidized flood insurance takes tax money from people who choose to live on high ground and uses it to give cheap insurance to those who choose to live where they know they will be a victim. By regularly paying for flood damage to people living in known flood areas, government gives incentives for people to live irresponsibly, without having to take the full cost of their actions into account. Flood insurance premiums for persistent flood areas and ocean shores should be very high, because the costs incurred are known to be very high. People who live in areas prone to hurricanes should be paying insurance premiums that reflect the very high risk of loss. If a house is destroyed every three years, the annual insurance premium should be at least one third of the cost of rebuilding. If not, then someone else is paying for their irresponsibility. Freedom is the foundation of America. People should have the right to choose where and how to live. With freedom, however, comes responsibility. Every person should bear the cost of his or her actions and choices. Asking others to bear the cost is irresponsible and breeds dependency. When there is a disaster, people pitch in to help, neighbors help neighbors. There was an outpouring of billions of dollars and millions of man-hours of labor in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and the Indonesian Tsunami. Local communities pitch in with benefit dinners and fund raisers when disaster is local. People really do care. People don’t, however, like to be taken advantage of. When some people are made to pay the price of other people’s indiscretion, it is not fair to the person who’s money is confiscated, and it is not responsible for those who receive it. The people in society pay a very high price in the long run when rule makers enable and encourage irresponsible behavior, including choices of where to live, when people don’t have to count the true cost of their actions.
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Daniel Mclaughlin Copyright © 2007 [Daniel McLaughlin]. All rights reserved. Revised: 01/06/08

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Where You Live

I live in a rural area that is not an economic powerhouse. It has a fairly low cost of living, but also has a relatively stagnant economy. It is not the land of opportunity. It is our choice, however, to stay. It is home for our family, we enjoy the slower pace, the people, the weather, the more rural life. One of the positive characteristics of this region is that it very seldom has a natural disaster of major proportions.

Significant tornadoes occur in the area, but they are exceedingly rare. The last truly devastating flood happened 30 years ago. Winters may be cold and long sometimes, but there are few disastrous blizzards, and most people get through them unscathed. We don’t suffer from hurricanes, other than peripheral bad weather effects. We are very lucky, or rather, we made good choices, at least with regard to living where disasters are few and far between.

Other people are not so fortunate, weather-wise. They make their homes in risky places, and no matter how unpleasant or dangerous it may be for some, they wouldn’t dream of leaving. There are people who live in deserts or tropical areas where temperatures regularly reach over 100 degrees. Some people live in flood plains and get flooded out on a regular basis. There are people who live in areas that get hammered by hurricanes almost every year, at least once. Others live with the constant threat of killer tornadoes.

Each area has its own charm, its attractions, its benefits, as well as its drawbacks. An individual’s choice of where to live should take all of these things into consideration, and each person should be free to make his or her own decisions about it. Those decisions, however, should include all of the costs of their choices.

Someone living in the desert should not expect someone living in a moist, temperate climate to subsidize his air conditioning bill or pay for providing water for desert living. They should be able to get whatever water they want, but they should also have to pay the high price of getting the water where it doesn’t occur naturally. Water in the desert should be very expensive because it is so scarce there.

People choosing to live on a flood plain should be free to live there if they want. They should, however, not expect others to pick up the tab for the damage that they know they will incur on a regular basis. Government subsidized flood insurance takes tax money from people who choose to live on high ground and uses it to give cheap insurance to those who choose to live where they know they will be a victim. By regularly paying for flood damage to people living in known flood areas, government gives incentives for people to live irresponsibly, without having to take the full cost of their actions into account. Flood insurance premiums for persistent flood areas and ocean shores should be very high, because the costs incurred are known to be very high.

People who live in areas prone to hurricanes should be paying insurance premiums that reflect the very high risk of loss. If a house is destroyed every three years, the annual insurance premium should be at least one third of the cost of rebuilding. If not, then someone else is paying for their irresponsibility.

Freedom is the foundation of America. People should have the right to choose where and how to live. With freedom, however, comes responsibility. Every person should bear the cost of his or her actions and choices. Asking others to bear the cost is irresponsible and breeds dependency.

When there is a disaster, people pitch in to help, neighbors help neighbors. There was an outpouring of billions of dollars and millions of man-hours of labor in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and the Indonesian Tsunami. Local communities pitch in with benefit dinners and fund raisers when disaster is local.

People really do care. People don’t, however, like to be taken advantage of. When some people are made to pay the price of other people’s indiscretion, it is not fair to the person who’s money is confiscated, and it is not responsible for those who receive it. The people in society pay a very high price in the long run when rule makers enable and encourage irresponsible behavior, including choices of where to live, when people don’t have to count the true cost of their actions.

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