🚀 go-pugleaf

Jason O'Rourke wrote:
> 
> Joseph Lovell  <subdjoe@sonic.net> wrote:
> ><sigh> I know that I'm not supposed to feed the trolls.
> 
> me, too, but you left little choice.
> 
> >If he were truely concerned about the uncompensated costs in ER/Trauma
> >centers he would push of a $1.00/gallon tax on gasoline and a couple of
> >hundred percent tax on bicycles (let's see, bicycles kill or injure
> >about 450,000 people in the US every year, CA has about 15% of the
> >population, so CA will have around 67k people, mostly children, killed
> >or injured every year by bicycles), as well and doing something about
> >all those uninsured people.
> 
> Bicycles represent about 1000 of the 40,000 vehicle accidents per year.

Where the heck do you get only 1000 bicycle accidents per year and 40k
vehicle accidents?  US govt. figures show close to half a million deaths
or inuries (thing that add to the costs of ER/Trauma centers) per year
in the US by bicycles. Are you maybe talking about bicycle deaths and
motor vehicle deaths per year?  If so, then the accidental bicycle
deaths (and most of those are children [really children, under 14, not
the 19 year olds that the VPC counts as children], by the way) are > or
= to accidental firearms deaths, and the total of firearms realated
deaths is 25% lower than ACCIDENTAL vehicle deaths - any other item that
caused 40k accidental deaths per year would be recalled, banned, and the
manufacturers sued out of existance.  You help make my point for me, if
the Honorable Mr. Perata is truely concerned about the red ink in
hospital ER/Trauma centers, he would be much more effective going after
vehicles (about 40% of ER/Trauma center red ink)of all types than
firearms (about 5% of ER/TC red ink).

> They are even less of a concern than gunshot victims (most of whom either
> were suicidal, or ones we could do without).
>
You are suggesting that people killed or injured by bicycles are less
dead or less injured than those who are killed or injured by someone
with a gun?  Or are you saying that since most of those killed or
injured by bicycles are children they don't count?  Not quite sure where
you are going with that statement.
 
And you failed to address the cost incured by hospitals when uninsured
people use ERs as primary care centers.  How will a tax that is
projected to raise $20,000,000 make a dent in that?
> Put down the crack pipe.
>
Never touched one, literally.  No interest at all.  The only
recreational ingestible chemicals that we use are fermented and or
distilled spirits - in a year we will go through about half a bottle of
single malt, half a bottle of good vodka, a bottle of dark rum (fruity
slush drinks on hot summer days), maybe 4 bottles of wine, a case of
beer and a case of hard cider.  And most of that is consumed at church
functions, and about 1/4 of the wine and cider go into cooking.
But do feel free to indulge in your habit.
 
> --
> Jason O'Rourke www.jor.com