On Nov 3, 2004, at 4:46 AM, Erik Reuter wrote:
On Wed, Nov 03, 2004 at 10:24:21PM +1000, Russell Chapman wrote:
This is becoming common at school canteens here (Parents get to say what categories of food kids can buy, or apply limits (eg 1 coke per day or whatever)), and they can't buy anything without swiping their student card...
What I have learnt is that based on how easily the kids circumvent the system, real criminals and terrorists will have no problem at all....
Of course, for adults, it is an absurd idea as stated.
If there were ever a movement to make people accountable for their "risky" behavior, a model already exists -- insurance premiums. Rather than disallowing purchase of certain items, such a system would simply track purchases, and the data would be available for setting health insurance premiums based on the expense risk each individual poses to the health-care system.
Which reminds me of the well-publicized story of Southern Californian who tried to sue a grocery store in a slip-and-fall case, but the store's lawyers reportedly threatened to use his record of purchasing large amounts of alcohol using their so-called "loyalty" card against him.
Dave
_______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
