Sometimes the greatest costs to our society come from poor choices made by otherwise good people.
Unfortunately, our vices can quickly evolve into an overwhelming economic burden. Everyone loves having a good time, but when occasional excesses become habitual, our nation pays the price. Consider the impact of the usual assortment of vices: drinking, gambling, and smoking.
Drinking. In 2000, more than 2.1 million automobile crashes in the United States involved alcohol, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Association. They killed nearly 17,000 people and injured more than half a million more. What's more, the cost of alcohol-related crashes in the United States that year was more than $114 billion -- the lion's share of which was paid by tax dollars. Plus, drunk-driving accidents lead to many other indirect costs: higher insurance rates, greater emergency health care needs, and the need for more cops on the road. This is a monumental burden.
Gambling. Much like a casino itself, gambling presents a slick fa莽ade: It seems to bring jobs to the community, generate revenue, and stimulate the local economy. Unfortunately, shrouded by these glittery promises is a darker reality. For many, gambling is addictive, and for those people, it's highly destructive. Gambling communities often experience higher rates of addiction, child abuse, domestic violence, suicide, crime, corruption, and bankruptcy. What may at first seem like a boon to the local economy can quickly become a losing proposition for taxpayers as higher law enforcement, social welfare, and regulatory costs become the norm. And now Internet gambling threatens to eat up the credit of the 8 million Americans who wager online each year. Add that to our already great credit woes, and it's a recipe for disaster.
Smoking. Tobacco use remains the single leading cause of preventable deaths in the United States, killing 440,000 people each year. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the total direct medical cost of smoking to our society is $75 billion yearly. Americans spent $82 billion on cigarettes in 2005; think of all the ways that money could have been better spent.As we said, no one is against having a good time. But ask yourself this question the next time you partake of a vice: What would it mean for America if a million people did what you are about to do? If the answer scares you, that's a signal to rein things in -- for you most of all, but also for your family, friends, and country.
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