Isn't using tax payers dollars to recover the bodies (living or dead) of those lost hikers just another subsidy for the rich.
Afterall most hikers that have enough money to plan a vacation and have gear are rich ... AND IF YOU DON'T BELIEVE THERE RICH THINK OF HOW REGULAR WORKING PEOPLE LIVE ... The only vacations I have had time or money for was to visit family .... hell I have not even left the state in 10 years. I just don't have the money or the time to have a fancy vacation (like they did).
I live in the country and when I was injured and flown out by careflight I got a $8,000 bill for the use of the helicopter (100% out of pocket) and hospital cost. (even living in the city an ambulance cost anywhere from 250 to 1,000 depending on time which is also 100% out of pocket)
Yet, if the guys get rescued they don't have to pay a dime for the already over $200,000 spent on trying to find them.
I say let them buy an insurance policy ... many of the counties where these hikers
2006-12-19 20:45:32 · 17 answers · asked by bone_daddys_waitress 2 in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
AS FOR PUBLIC FUNDS DEFENSE OF THE HIKERS... Yes, when my house is robbed it is the legal system that pays the bill .... since it is a criminal act and the state is the one that is prosecuting!
However, If I slip and fall in a grocery store ... or if I get screwed out of money from local business I pay the bill! Since I am acting as the plantiff, since it is not a CRIMINAL ... But a CIVIL MATTER!
2006-12-19 21:21:07 · update #1
I am just saying I had to pay for one hour of a helicopter!
They should pay for the multiple hours of search and rescue!
As for the HISTORICAL QUESTION and sense of national pride... Mount Hood has been climbed before ... If they got to the top and came down alive (by them selves) ... the only people that would have cared would have been them.
2006-12-19 21:24:03 · update #2
AS FOR THOSE WHO ARE AGAINST A CLIMBERS INSURANCE... Well, I guess I don't need it for my car, my house, myself ... I guess I will just wait for the government to pay my bills...
IF YOU TRY THAT AT HOME ... Here is what will happen ... in Texas if you are caught with car insurance your vehicle is towed and you go to jail ...
However in Mountain Climbing ... you don't pay a dime and you get rich of the book sells!
2006-12-19 21:26:49 · update #3
I MEAN "RICHER" OFF BOOK SELLS... You are already rich otherwise how would you afford the trip
2006-12-19 21:27:45 · update #4
THIS WAS ALSO PART OF A STORY FROM "World News Tonight" Which stated that the burden of the cost would not go to the familes... The local, county and state would eat the most of it ... while the US Military considers it a form of training and does not charge families.
2006-12-19 21:31:08 · update #5
1) Which lost hikers
2) I can't believe that you let your country run a system that makes you pay for an ambulance, that's a disgrace.
3) Anyone undertaking holidays that are either in a foreign country OR have built in risk factors (such as hiking) should be forced to carry holiday insurance.
2006-12-19 20:48:31 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 3⤋
Most of the individuals involved with finding those hikers were volunteers. They give of their time freely in the effort of returning the three men to their families.
I understand what you are saying though. There is a good chance that a portion of the costs for the choppers and plane will be paid out of the mens estates. Normally the agencies that commit resources to assist in search and rescue try to recoup their expenses through either insurance policies or from the estates of the deceased. I have no doubt that the families of the three men will receive some type of bills for all of this.
In saying this, what price do you put on trying to save someones life? It isn't a matter of whether they were rich or poor, climbing a mountain or going for a walk. Disappearances occur everyday all around our country. When is a persons life not worth trying to save them? They were/are human beings. The same effort would be put into trying to save a person like you, me or someone we deeply cared about. I would be grateful for that as I am sure you would be.
As for what the helicopter ride cost you, it is ridiculous. It sounds like you didn't have any insurance coverage. Which means that you were eligible for having a portion if not all of the charge written off. I sure hope you looked into this.
2006-12-19 21:23:26 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
I think the families of the hikers should foot the bill.
Why this is national news is beyond me!
Mt Hood is dangerous enough in the summer. Why these idiots decided to be "big manly men" and go up there in the worst time of the year is so stupid!
The rescuers are risking their lives for these idiot.
I have no sypathy whatsover for them.
The idiots families should get a bill for the search and rescue effort. Dead or alive. What jerks!
The county which includes Mt Hood will get stuck with the bill. That is a very poor/rural area to begin with. So now, the people who live there will pay for these morons and if they can't afford the raise in taxes, are up the creek! Some of them who can't pay, may lose their homes just because these 3 @$$holes had to be show-offs.
It makes me sick!
Meanwhile people are all hand wringing and boo-hoo the poor mountain climbers.
It just infuriates me...
Good question by the way.
2006-12-19 20:52:14 · answer #3 · answered by Astro Gurl 3 · 3⤊ 1⤋
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2016-11-27 22:03:24 · answer #4 · answered by ayoub 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, when it is civilians engaged in leisure. There should be some kind of bill or amount due to the idiots that put themselves into such danger. I also disagree with this concept of space tourists. In no way does $10 million reimburse the taxpayers for the cost of giving that rich person a thrill. Moreover, it remains to be seen what costs the taxpayer will be willing to bear to rescue a stranded space tourist.
On the other hand, military personnel in need of search and rescue, that is just part of our warrior mentality. Whatever the costs, it will get done. Such a concept is not shared by Asian armies.
2006-12-19 20:59:42 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 1⤋
In Alaska climbers are charged if they have to be rescued.
I think there's a big difference in using community resource in say, rescuing someone from a car accident to people who decide to take the risk and climb a mountain in the middle of winter.
Why shouldn't the family pay for it? or at the very least the estate of the deceased or rescued person.
2006-12-20 01:20:00 · answer #6 · answered by El_Nimo 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I think that the family should bear some cost since this was an unusual circumstance. They knew what they were doing was dangerous and this rescue effort went above and beyond a normal rescue. I live in a coastal area, and the Coast guard has called off searches for people and left it to the locals to find those who are missing. Of course, I guess it all goes back to who you are. They didn't call off the search for JFK, Jr. until he was found.
2006-12-19 21:02:38 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
My biggest concern is that the rescuers are putting themselves in danger. They have families too!
As for expense, maybe there should be a permit process - anyone who wants to climb has to post a sizeable bond to cover any potential rescue costs. If they can't afford it, then they can't climb.
Better yet, require them to hire and pay for their own rescue team, in advance.
I have sympathy for these people, but not as much as I have for the many, many people who are suffering through no fault of their own.
Unfortunately, these men sought danger. They got it.
But the bottom line is, if someone's in trouble we will help them. We can (and maybe should) bill them afterward.
2006-12-19 23:11:16 · answer #8 · answered by American citizen and taxpayer 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
They went up on that mountain knowing it is DECEMBER... not spring time and flowers,...SNOW and freezing wind.
No one held a gun to their head and said climb that mountain or I will blow your brains out.
They were not on any military assignment or excercise.
It's not like they were staying in a campground and got lost in the woods, where there is better access and good chances of survival.
THEY CHOSE to climb 14,000 feet on a snow covered mountain at the worst time of the year in what were already severe winter conditions.
THEY put themselves in that position and therefore THEY or their families should pay for the ENTIRE search and rescue effort, and just hope no one loses their life in an attempt to rescue these idiots.
They knew the risks.
They were stupid, arrogant egotists.
Sense of adventure, my foot!
How about COMMON SENSE.
Too bad, so sad... now pay up.
2006-12-19 21:08:02 · answer #9 · answered by Jeezuss Jan 3 · 3⤊ 1⤋
The first thing my room-mate said to me when I
first walked in the door was, they want the family to
help pay with the rescue. I said good why do we have
to foot the bill. They have the money they know the
risk they were taking. It's there vacation not mine.
2006-12-19 21:26:53 · answer #10 · answered by popo dean 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋