Pandemic Reveals Red/Blue Risk Divide

Taki ng risks is essential to our lives and fundamental to our sense of autonomy. Risk is how we get anything valuable in life, even if it exposes us to loss. To some extent, we should be free to take whatever risks we choose and bear the consequences, good and bad. When we shift from the private to the public realm, however, these freedoms have upsides and downsides. Some risks could pose harm to others and so should be regulated, and some downside risks are intolerable and inefficient. Food stamps and free school lunches help mitigate circumstances for Americans struggling to pay food costs, and unemployment insurance, along with Medicaid, disability, and welfare payments, helps other Americans afford some basic standard of living, no matter what happens to them. A feature of modern society is that we band together and establish mandatory insurance, financed by taxes, to provide a safety net for income and health care. Read Full Article »