Life Jacket Law

The recent epidemic of drownings in Eastern Washington has generated demands for stricter life jacket laws and stricter penalties. The state law is complicated with different requirements for different ages, different boats, and in different bodies of water. A violation costs the transgressor $76, far less than the cost of an emergency response.

I once suggested that those who choose to violate safety requirements should be liable for their own rescue. I was told my suggestion revealed a lack of compassion for victims of tragedy. The recent incident on the Spokane River involved 35 emergency responders and significant taxpayer expense. I was discussing the issue with some friends the other day and one who had been quiet said, “Why do we need life jacket laws at all?” I responded the same could be said of seat belt and motorcycle helmet laws. Why does our government assume the responsibility to save us from our own stupidity? My friend said I missed the point. The wearing of life jackets is elementary common sense. People should wear them just because they should wear them, and no law should be required. I started to explain there will always be people who choose to do stupid things, then thought better of it.

I thought about my friend’s comments for a couple days until I came to the realization that we need laws to save us from stupidity as long as we demand government come to our rescue. When unfortunate individuals become separated from their watercraft, an army of first responders are expected to rush to their aid. Not just for water related accidents, but for most other disasters as well. This humanitarian aid can be a blessing in difficult times, but it comes with a price.

Hurricane Katrina completely devastated parts of New Orleans. I visited a friend there a few months after the storm. He took me to the hardest hit areas, and I looked up at the levees holding back the river. No one in their right mind would ever consider building there.

Before levees channeled the river, the neighborhood had been a swamp. The water level rose and fell with the seasons, but was never dry. A little over a hundred years ago, engineers diked the river through the low-lying wetlands. The area was transformed into lush agricultural fields. As the city expanded, housing areas replaced the farms. Insurance companies were reluctant to cover homes below the level of the nearby river, and home buyers assumed their own risk. Everything was fine until rains from Katrina caused the river to overflow its banks. The entire area reverted to the swamp nature intended, and neighborhoods were inundated.

We expected government to save the victims. The expense was enormous, and a law was passed to ensure it would never happen again. All home owners in specified areas are now required to carry flood insurance. We can no longer accept our own risk, and a bit of our freedom was taken away.

The 2008 banking crises was a man-made financial disaster. Our government stepped in to pick up the pieces and bailed out the failing banks. Federal legislators soon passed a stack of new laws to prevent recurrence. Lenders now do little more than administer the paperwork. Government regulators control every phase of home loans. With access to prospective homeowners’ financial records, government agencies check more than the borrower’s ability to repay the loan. They can, and do, check to make sure the down payment was not produced by money laundering or other criminal activity. They also check tax returns for at lest five years to see if borrowers have cheated on their taxes.

Beware of government rushing to the rescue. Government assistance always comes at the price of our freedom.

(Frank Watson is a retired Air Force Colonel and a long time resident of Eastern Washington. He has been a free lance columnist for over 18 years.)