Here is Bryan Caplan’s rejoinder to Yoram Bauman, who wrote A Cartoon Introduction to Climate Change. The whole thing comes from Bryan’s critique of the comic.
Bryan, as always, is civil, logical, and to the point.
“"Insurance is NOT a no-brainer." You're absolutely right that buying an extended warranty for a toaster is a bad idea, but the cartoon book repeatedly emphasizes low probability outcomes that are catastrophic, which is a pretty good focal point for insurance.”
Bryan:
No, it's a terrible focal point for insurance. Most people fail to insure against many low-probability catastrophic events - and you probably don't want to call them fools. Just one example: Costco.com sells a year's supply of dehydrated food for $1499.99. This product provides excellent insurance against a long list of natural and man-made disasters. Question: Have you bought it? If not, why not? The same goes for what you drive (probably not the safest car), where you live (probably not the safest neighborhood in your area, much less the country or world), where you travel, who you sleep with, and so on. Low-probability catastrophes lurk around every corner, but the standard response seems to be, "Until I see concrete dangers, I'll take my chances."
Bryan has made comments on several educational comics, including:
