Sunday, August 17, 2008

More on Wheelchairs and Airports

From a very learned friend:

"P.S. In economics as you likely know, they talk of the concept of adverse selection that focuses on the notion that when a subsidy or support is in place in a given organization for a given challenge, those with that challenge seem to overly populate that organization or entity. In the Navy, problem pregnancies and, more profoundly, families with exceptional health challenges are likely examples of this. In airports, the ready availability of wheelchairs and the services related likely lead to an uptick in those in need of a wheelchair. If you really want to see this in action as one of your commenters alluded to, go to Disney World where folks in wheelchairs are given accelerated access to rides with almost no limit on how many of their "family" they can take with them. Once again, I suspect many, many folks need this support and I am glad they get to enjoy the park but there is no doubt in my mind that there is a statistically significant increase in the use of wheelchairs when these "extra" benefits are in place."

4 comments:

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  2. Same experience at the Anacostia (Green Line) metro station. I watched more people walk with what appeared to be fine ability from their primo handicapped parking to the platform below and back again each day for several months when I used the metro. While I was nearly overcome with emotion each time I witnessed these miracles of healing, I did have to wonder why their miraculous healing only appeared to occur between the time they parked and the time they left because clearly they would not have parked there the next day if they were still healed. No, no way they would do that. So I am left to assume that this is a periodic temporal miracle healing, one that manifests itself in perfect unison with parking at the metro green line station. There was also a guy in a wheel chair who had no legs who had to wheel his way to and from the farthest handicapped spaces (and there were a LOT of such spaces provided). I kept hoping that he too would experience the miraculous healing of these other blue space parkers but, alas, he remained legless each time I saw him...and always parking farther away than all the walking miracles. I guess I understand his situation though. Can you imagine the challenges of dressing for travel with no legs then work with yes legs then travel again with no legs? He may simply have opted out of the periodic temporal miraculous healing program just to save on trousers, socks and shoes. Ah, the fond memories of commuting through Anacostia Green Line Station. But that is another whole rant.

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  3. Post yourself in South Parking at the Pentagon one morning, and watch as the healing miracle you describe works its magic there. Scores of spots for the handicapped serve as cosmic lenses for the universe's healing powers, with healing energy concentrated into the driver's side of vehicles enabling the drivers to spring out and tarry forward to their offices. Alas, the cosmic tonic works only for the day, as night brings whatever brittleness that had existed back to the bones of the victims.

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  4. I always hate it when old people use young people language but in this case I'm obliged to say "ROFLMAO". My side aches.

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