Moral Hazard

Moral hazard (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moral_hazard) is the fact that people act differently when there is a safety net than when there is no net.

I recently visited part of the north rim of the Grand Canyon which is not “tourist friendly”. The edge is…an edge. No railings, no warnings, no fences. Just you with your feet next to a 2000 foot drop. Did I act differently than I would where there were railings and fences? You bet. Because I knew that I bore the full responsibility for my safety.

Moral hazard is the key difference between a Mommy government and the Republic of or Founding Fathers.

In short, today’s government wants to wrap people in bubble wrap and kiss any boo-boos that they still manage to get.

But we know how we became adults–when we stood apart from our parents and took responsibility for our actions.

We knew that the car would do 100 MPH but we chose to drive the speed limit.

Ask yourself – would you have paid as much attention if the car automatically drove no faster than the speed limit? Nope. It would be like bumper cars — hold the pedal to the floor all the time.

A car with that feature may or may not be safer for people on the road, but that’s not my point.

The point is: would you have learned to drive responsibly as soon? No.

By the same token, government should back out of the bubble-wrap business and stop protecting businesses from failing. Why? So that we learn responsibility.

Common sense.

Oh — and about that view? Spectacular!

http://www.doublepup.com/images/View.jpg

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