While the devastation in Oklahoma is tragic, reading this article about how locals have resisted requiring tornado shelters in new homes is maddening. They know the area is at risk for tornadoes and the devastation they cause, yet they’re unwilling to build in safety measures which cost about $4,000 per new home.

A former president of the home builders association there said,

Most homebuilders would be against [requiring shelters] because we think the market ought to drive what people are putting in the houses, not the government.

Yet those same people expect the government and taxpayers around the country to pay for rebuilding their homes and partially reimbursing them for their losses.

I think this falls in the same category of seat belt laws. Many people didn’t want to bother with them, but if you don’t have them and get hurt in an accident, you’re negatively impacting other people in society. I hope Oklahoma enacts legislation to require shelters when they’re rebuilding. Just as I hope NY and NJ requires safeguards or insurance for homes that are in flood zones.