I briefly spoke of this same topic back on March 4, 2009, as an example of a government that has encroached way too far into citizen's lives. I guess it can only get worse...
That crappy proposal about alarms in day care vans has apparently (or soon will) become law.
This bill tries to rectify a problem that has only claimed 27 (yes, twenty-seven) lives since 1994 (yes, ninety-four) NATIONWIDE!!! This is ONE death every 203 days over the last 15 (yes, fifteen) years (the range the data is cited in the Capital Times article linked above)! There were 204 non-traffic child fatalities in 2008 alone (from KidsandCars.org statistics page)! This 'day care van deaths' are a MINUSCULE portion of this problem.
This new Wisconsin law mandates what could be an expensive addition to already cash-strapped day cares, adds penalties and fines for not having an alarm, a non-working alarm, disabled, etc. Drivers will be more worried about the alarm than the children. Good job Spencer, who said, "Senators, we have to stop the children from dying, We can't legislate common sense. But this we can do."
"We can't legislate common sense." Of course you can't, but this is specifically what you are trying to do. Contact your state representatives and senators and tell them that their support of this bill is a mistake.
This will be shown in the local news as a good thing to 'protect our children' and 'ensure their safety.' Sound bites paraded by the politicians who created this disaster. And those who may have not supported it will be vilified by the public when they don't understand. I guess this is just the world we live in.
Let me make a point clear. One could deduce from this 'rant' that I hate kids, or think that their deaths are not a big deal. This is not my point; nobody wants anyone to die in this fashion. Children so young that they can't get themselves out of a car are dependent on the adults that watch over them; be it their parents or day-care workers. But the argument comes to personal responsibility. The people transporting these kids are RESPONSIBLE for their lives. This is no small task and should not be taken lightly.
You can have all the sensors and alarms you want and children will still die. Put all the seat belts, airbags, crumple zones, and safety features in your car, but you can still die in an accident. You could die falling down. Legislation will not stop some things from happening. This being the best example.
This bill will become law. Day care vans all over the state will have these stupid alarms in them. The news will then report of more children being left in day care vans and possibly dying, and everyone will ask, "but the alarms were supposed to stop this! What can we do now?!" Some dumb new rule, like video cameras or something, will be proposed in the name of 'child safety' and 'protecting our children' and fawned over by the public and state politicians, only to have the same effect. Other states may adopt a similar law (maybe they already do, I don't know).
This isn't the first time that our government (state and federal) has wasted their time and the money of the people. But I just have one thing to say: Get to work you lazy fuckers, and stop passing stupid shit! And for fuck's sake, will you start working for the betterment of this state instead of sucking it's citizens dry!!!
I love living here, but I hate paying for it!
Next Point: Mandated automobile insurance in Wisconsin
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