No. of Recommendations: 15
I said no bailout for people who blow their 401(k)s on crypto.
But you also intimated that you weren't suggesting getting rid of social safety net provisions. So while it's not a full bailout, it's still a bailout. If you blow all your retirement savings betting on Red 11, you're not going to be allowed to starve. We're still going to pick up all your costs of food and housing and clothing and shelter and a lot of other things that you would have been able to pay for yourself out of your own pocket if you hadn't been allowed to bet your retirement savings at the Crypto Casino.
That's why it's not a great idea to let people do this. It's not costless to you or me or society if they make a terrible choice. We will have to pay to support them if they make a truly bad choice. Which is one of the major reasons why even in a society that prizes liberty we restrain people's ability to make terrible choices - when it affects other people, not just themselves.
If you're going to have a social safety net (which you don't argue against), then people's individual self-harm will have externalized costs to the broader society. Usually, the correct response is to not let them take the risky actions that expose other people to the risk of externalized costs. No, you can't store dynamite in your living room; no, you're not allowed to build your house out of super-flammable materials; no, you have to wear a seat belt while driving.
