Nope not a lawyer, just a country boy who works for a living.

No one seems to be getting the point I am trying to make here. It must be me, my expression must be inadequate.

I am not saying we shouldn't rescue people. In fact, I am glad we have the facility and means to do so. I think programs like SAR are quite valuable, and the folks who work so hard to help others are friggin' saints in my book.

My concern is that everyone for whom the service has saved their lives made a choice at some point to undertake an activity involving risk. That risk gets transferred to all of us due to tax collection and subsequent funding of various programs and services used. Some folks may be compelled to pay a modicum of the costs associated with their rescue, but the vast majority don't and likely couldn't even if they were told to.

Maybe I am just an idealist, but I grow weary of watching stupid people do stupid things that I have to pay for the fix. It interferes with my survival plans, among other things. Lord knows I do enough stupid things that I have to pay for myself, I don't need to be paying for more than my share.

We need a better mechanism for paying these costs than just pulling money from the general fund. That wasn't what it was intended for, and it gets used to justify a lot of abuse. We use indemnification processes for lots of other things we do. Maybe there's a way to make it work for "rescue insurance" too.

Not political, practical. Pay to play. That's how life should go. We spend money on gear, guides, transport, to go do our thing. If we expect a safety net, then we should be willing to pay for that too, not make everyone else pay for it.

Very few people in this world get to do anything they want without consequence. Poor folk have choices to make, the same as rich folk. If a person chooses to go leave the security of their civilization, whether it is to fish, hunt, work, or just take in the scenery, indemnification should be as much a part of their provisions as a firemaking kit. It should require the same consideration when planning the event.

For those less fortunate, life is an exercise in survival, and I don't recall ever hearing of homeless folks needing rescue out in the boonies. But their plight is a whole different issue.