Great Power

In the Amazing Spider Man, Ben Parker, uncle and guardian of Peter Parker/Spiderman states, “with great power there must also come great responsibility".  While I agree with his statement, I will go one step further and say that with any power there must also come responsibility.

I believe that God granted mankind the greatest power, the power of free will. God is omnipotent and knows the choices we will make, yet he gave us the power to ultimately choose, regardless of conditions.  This great power, the ability to make choices comes with a great responsibility. And this responsibility is twofold; we must make responsible, intelligent choices and we must accept responsibility for the consequences of our choices.

Newton’s third law of motion is paraphrased as “for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.” Analogous to that, for every choice there is a result, or consequence, of that choice.

Some choices are quite mundane; what I will wear today, what I will have for breakfast, or whether I have a second cup of coffee.  The consequence of those choices is usually mundane as well and the impact of the consequence does not extend to others or, at worst, may simply be an inconvenience to others.  Other choices have more grave consequences and the impact of those consequences extends to numerous others.  For example, the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration reports 10,839 fatalities in 2009 involved at least one driver with a blood alcohol content of 0.08% or greater.  Of these fatalities, 33% (3558) were either motor vehicle occupants other than the driver or non-occupants. Occupants of other vehicles accounted for 1,119 fatalities. Therefore, a consequence of a choice to drive while intoxicated is the injury or death of someone other than the person who made the choice.

None of us are immune to making irresponsible choices.  How we handle the responsibility of those consequences is what really matters.  Unfortunately, attorney and law firm advertisements are quite prevalent.  The advertisements are usually for personal injury or driving under the influence (DUI) lawyers.  Among the statements made in DUI lawyer advertisements are “Let us go to work for you so you can get back the life you deserve”, “Each DUI attorney … will help you get your charges dismissed, lower or drop your fines”, “If there is something that provides grounds for reasonable doubt of your guilt, we will find it”.  The implication is the lawyer will find a loophole or a technicality to reduce the consequences to the driver accused of DUI.  There is even a college for DUI lawyers that advertises programs to “develop skills for trial, including methods for attacking field sobriety tests, breath and blood tests, for making opening statements and closing arguments, for learning techniques in cross-examining police officers and prosecution experts, and for developing and using defense expert witnesses.”

Buy a hired gun, make the consequences go away.  But what does this accomplish?  An article published in the American Journal of Public Health in May, 2010, entitled Risk of Alcohol-Impaired Driving Recidivism Among First Offenders and Multiple Offenders, draws the conclusion that “Any alcohol impaired driving violation, not just convictions, is a marker for future recidivism.”  It further states, “…for deterrence to work, an alcohol-impaired driver has to believe that he or she will be arrested, convicted, and sanctioned for a violation.”  In other words, for drunk-driving deterrence to work, the drunk driver must believe they will suffer legal consequences due to a violation.  Fear of legal sanctions such as fines, jail time, or loss of driving privileges may deter drunk-driving because the drunk driver suffers the consequences. What about the fear of maiming or killing others?  Have we become so instilled with a sense of entitlement that we no longer care if our irresponsible choices destroy the lives of others?

 The potential consequences of an irresponsible choice such as drunk driving should be obvious.   What about the less obvious choices, such as choices that lead to obesity? The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) finds that 35.7% of adults and 16.9% of children and adolescents in the US are obese.  The CDC reports that direct medical costs associated with obesity were estimated to be $147 billion in 2008.  By comparison, the Congressional Budget Office reports that Medicare spending for fiscal year 2010 was $519 billion.

While eating and exercise habits are obviously a personal choice, the consequences of poor choices are not.  A study by Ross Hammond and Ruth Levine of the Brookings Institute published in 2010 indicates that the public sector pays a significant portion of obesity-related medical costs and in the absence of obesity Medicare spending would be an estimated 8.5% lower and Medicaid spending 11.8% lower. 

So who pays for Medicare and Medicaid? Taxpayers and employers do!  Of your earnings, 1.45% is paid to the Federal Insurance Contributions Act or FICA.  Your employer matches that 1.45% for a total of 2.9% or your earnings.  Medicare is paid out of the contributions to FICA.  Medicaid funding comes from both the state and the federal government.  Where does the state and federal government get the money? It comes from the taxpayer, of course. Since it is tax season, take a look at your W-2 form and see how much of your earnings went to Medicare.  Multiply that number by 0.085.  That’s how much you could have kept if obesity were not an issue in this country. 

Unfortunately, the costs don’t stop there.  There are the productivity costs due to absenteeism, presenteeism (loss of productivity due to obesity), disability, and premature mortality.  All of these things increase the costs of goods and services we need or desire.

In another case of contemptible actions, too often people pass the buck or simply avoid the consequences.  Bankruptcy is an example of avoiding the consequences.  When a debtor declares bankruptcy, they are seeking to obtain relief from debt. This is accomplished either through a discharge of the debt or through a restructuring of the debt.  Title 11 of the US Code, Chapter 7, allows a debtor to keep certain exempt property such as a home or car, while surrendering other property for liquidation to repay creditors. In return, the debtor is entitled to a discharge of some debt, primarily unsecured debt such as credit card balances.  Ning Zhu, a professor at the University of California, in his study, The Household Consumption and Personal Bankruptcy, says that over-consumption, overspending and households that simply live beyond their means are the primary factors that wreck finances and lead to bankruptcy.  It also reported that people do not generally adjust spending in order to avoid bankruptcy. The study showed that in the households which file bankruptcy, more than five percent own at least one luxury vehicle.  The study found when consumers overspend and live beyond their means and then experience an adverse event, they are likely to file bankruptcy Title 11, Chapter 7 (bankruptcy) because they do not have the ability to repay their debts. Once a debt is discharged under Chapter 7, the debtor is no longer under obligation to pay those debts.  More disturbingly, study results indicate that consumers strategically choose to file bankruptcy after overspending, rather than being forced into filing bankruptcy by adverse events.  Because of overspending and the avoidance of consequences, the cost is passed on to others in the form of increased costs of goods and services.

How often do people avoid the consequences of their spending choices by filing for bankruptcy?  Bankruptcy is governed by the federal courts and the US Court System reports on its website that in calendar year 2010, there were 1.1 million Chapter 7 bankruptcy filings.  The Department of Justice estimates that these filings resulted in the discharge of nearly $20 billion in credit card debt alone. The companies pass the loses onto the consumer, so you pay for another’s failure to honor their obligations.

 It is fraudulent and dishonest to expect others to honor the financial obligations that you have undertaken. 

“Guns kill!” “Alcohol kills!”  Familiar statements, but they are untrue.  Neither guns nor alcohol in and of themselves can harm people. In order to harm, both guns and alcohol require that a person use them irresponsibly.   However, by making the statement that guns or alcohol kills, the responsibility is passed on instead of residing where it rightly belongs, with the person who acted irresponsibly.  Passing or avoiding the blame is an age-old game.

The game is still played today.  Celebrities, sports figures, and public leaders set the example for us today.  How many have said or done things that were embarrassing, illegal, or immoral and then blamed it on drugs, alcohol, the situation, someone else, or simply lied about it or tried to cover it up?

In the Book of Genesis, Cain slays his brother Abel.  When confronted by God, Cain did not answer, but asked, “Am I my brother’s keeper?”  After God banished Abel, Abel complained that his punishment was too great.  During his presidency, Bill Clinton was accused of having sexual relations with Monica Lewinsky. Clinton told Jim Lehrer of PBS that there “is no improper relationship." Later, before the grand jury, Clinton tried to rationalize his lying by famously stating, "It depends on what the meaning of the word 'is' is.”

Judeo-Christian faiths believe that all of our choices, all of our actions made in our lifetime will be called into account by God at our day of judgment.  It behooves us to teach our children and remember for ourselves that with free will comes responsibility to make conscientious, intelligent choices and accept the consequences for our actions and choices. 

Again, none of us are immune to making irresponsible choices.  However, avoiding the consequences of those actions or passing those consequences on to others is both shameful and deplorable.  Don’t be a parasite on society, make smart, responsible choices and accept the consequences of your choices and actions.