involved in extending public services to the disabled. In this case, it would probably cost quite a bit to upgrade the bus lifts to, say 700 pounds. More problematic is the liklihood that an 800 pound person would come along later and necessitate another, more costly, upgrade (Westerners _are_ gaining weight).
I am reminded of the costly separation of conjoined twins living in third world countries who are flown to the west at considerable expense for complicated surgery. Some would argue that the money would do more overall good if spent, for instance, in setting up a simple clinic for post-natal care in a poor village.
One thing I have certainly noticed, however, is that the public at large is not good at weighing trade-offs. Public policy is adversely affected by this to everyone's detriment. |
