No free ride

Carol Sterling rejects Obamacare because she doesn’t “agree with the flippin’ government telling me we have to do something.” [“Insuring Health: Coming changes polarize state,” page one, Sept. 22.]

The problem with such an attitude is that, if and when she gets sick or has an accident, she will end up at Harborview Medical Center, and we all pay for her rehabilitation. Or, she will receive charity care from community hospitals that are supported by their members. There just is not a free ride.

Even in a democracy we all are subject to laws we may disagree with. Women’s suffrage, Social Security and Medicare were all opposed by folks who felt that the “flippin’ government” should stay out of their lives.

How many people would want these laws repealed?

James Behrend, Bainbridge Island