Must taxpayers pay the cost to rescue persons who voluntarily risk their lives mountain climbing,etc.,etc.???

Question

Am not including normal hiking and climbing..Am refering to those, that knowingly risk their lives climbing the highest or dangerous sites..most of whom are wealthy, spending many thousands of dollars on each climb, and at times with lucrative motives etc.. When they encounter problems, the various goverment agencies (completely funded by tax dollars) immediately become involved, spending hundreds of thousands of dollars,using helicopters and the latest types of rescue equipment..as well as risking the lives of numerous personnel...and as news reports point out ,the search/rescue missions go on for weeks.. my question applies also to those such as a famous millionaire, who attempts traveling in high flying air balloons, to set a record, causing rescue teams to be involved.. they should be required to purchase insurance to reimburse any costs involved in their rescues., and failing to do so,should be required to sign a waiver of assistance or prevented from
doing as they please..

Answer 1

yep...they know the risks...and assume they will get rescued on the taxpayers buck....time to stop this...start billing them for rescues, and if they dont pay..sue them and take it from them...

Answer 2

IIRC some places are charging a fee to people who want to engage in risky activities. These fees go into a money pool to offset the cost of rescues.

There have been cases where hoaxer's who initiated a search and rescue operation were billed for the costs.

Answer 3

I think in some cases, just as car accidents and other situations the person is responsible for what happened and has to pay for the service. Such as if you had a trip to hospital in an ambulance, you would have to pay. I do believe this is handled on a case by case situation. Nothing is free in this country. What we pay taxes for is salaries, supplies, training ect... for the emergency organizations to exist to begin with.

Answer 4

If taxpayers can pay for this war we'rs in, I believe that rescuing a few mountain climbers is the least of our worries. Our tax dollars are wasted on numerous frivolous government activities, and yet it continues to occur. Why not help the people that are enjoying life and having a good time. I'd rather my tax dollars go to that than in the pockets of those beaurocratic pigs we have sitting atop the White House, and don't even get me started on the millions of wasted dollars that line the pockets of the corporations that contract the government especially in the military.

Answer 5

ever see the movie 'stranger than fiction'? it's about a irs agent who went after someone who paid 68% where they claimed they paid the taxes for schools streets etc. It's understandable how someone feels and it's all included just like our taxes on internet sales even though not everyone buys online everyone is being charged for a percentage the government thinks we bought on top of some sites also charging more based on if there is a store in your state so even though you don't pay for it direct to the online store the governement is being paid for it

people who do things like rock climbing you mentioned and need to be save shouldnt have gone in the first place save those people for lost boyscouts and the people needing them

Answer 6

Seems like there should be a way to recoop some of the expenses when the situation is that of a thrill seeker or risk taker vs just a scout lost in the woods. hard to figure how to assess though. Might try requiring more permits with fees to offset insurance costs when there is a park or specific piece of real estate involved

Answer 7

Tell ya what, have the taxpayers stop paying to rescue people who are unemployed, on welfare, smoking in bed and causing fires than we can talk about the rare instance of Ritchie Rich getting stuck mountain climbing.

Answer 8

Yes, just as they must rescue you from a burning building because you don't know how to cook, or from a car wreck when you were talking on your cell phone and not paying attention...what a horrible thought for you to think that you can decide who lives and who dies.

Answer 9

believe a lot of these people who do these things are charge a restitution
The so called "runaway bride"
had to pay

http://www.cnn.com/2004/LAW/07/01/missing.student.sentence/index.html

Answer 10

Generally, yes. Because society takes care of its citizens.