A Private-Health Issue
7 December 2007
Ms. Stacey Nickens
Meharry Medical College
Dear Ms. Nickens:
A genuine public-health crisis is one that threatens to inflict illnesses upon persons against their wishes and despite their choices. An example of such a crisis would be an epidemic of avian flu.
So contrary to your broadcast e-mail, "death and injury due to failure to use seatbelts" is not a public-health crisis. Many people might not use seatbelts. And failure to use this safety device undoubtedly increases one's risk of being seriously injured in an automobile accident. But no one catches against his or her will a failure to buckle up. Nor does my neighbor's failure to use his seatbelt make my seatbelts less reliable. If there's any real "crisis" regarding seatbelt use it's the suffocating swarm of busybodies trying to alarm the public to support further government restrictions upon individual freedom.
Sincerely,
Donald J. Boudreaux
Chairman, Department of Economics
George Mason University
Ms. Stacey Nickens
Meharry Medical College
Dear Ms. Nickens:
A genuine public-health crisis is one that threatens to inflict illnesses upon persons against their wishes and despite their choices. An example of such a crisis would be an epidemic of avian flu.
So contrary to your broadcast e-mail, "death and injury due to failure to use seatbelts" is not a public-health crisis. Many people might not use seatbelts. And failure to use this safety device undoubtedly increases one's risk of being seriously injured in an automobile accident. But no one catches against his or her will a failure to buckle up. Nor does my neighbor's failure to use his seatbelt make my seatbelts less reliable. If there's any real "crisis" regarding seatbelt use it's the suffocating swarm of busybodies trying to alarm the public to support further government restrictions upon individual freedom.
Sincerely,
Donald J. Boudreaux
Chairman, Department of Economics
George Mason University
Posted by Don Boudreaux on
Friday May 16, 2008 at 10:15am