I think it's unwise to make this a political argument, especially comparing it to health care. The real problem with our health care system now is that it costs too much. That's the 800 pound elephant in the room that will squash you. If that's not dealt with sooner than later, you always run the risk of people changing it in ways you may not find palatable. The fact that it has not been dealt with all this time is irresponsible IMO. But at some point over the next decade, it will be dealt with while we're all in crisis mode, not a good position to be dealing with problems.
But this is a discussion about a boating law, a targeted one at that. As you point out, some people have stated that they "are fearful" on the lake. Some element of fear is a good thing, it keep us diligent. But I remember back in the days of the 55 speed limit on all highways. When it was finally repealed and states allowed to set a more natural limit, we were basically told that millions more would die. Guess what? They have not referenced statistics again, since all of the stats do not favor their arguments. Even looking directly at the stats themselves, they are misleading. So you're arguing against a group that, at least in part, might think anything over 55 mph on a highway is unsafe.
This boating law was passed because of emotions, perceived fear, and good organization skills. The term "speed-related" has been so widely misused in statistics that it's borderline useless without a fudge factor being identified. It means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. So these aren't grand arguments when dealing with the masses of disparate opinions.
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