People are responsible for the risks they choose to take

   Editor:

   While Prime Minister (Wlodzimierz) Cimoszewicz may have been guilty of insensitivity to flood victims and of political stupidity to make his "famous gaffe" (see Editorial, Aug. 6), his essential point was correct: People are responsible for the risks they choose to take. "Preferential loans" to flood victims amount to a public subsidy to folks who chose to locate their homes on flood plains. Why should those who have wisely chosen to live in higher areas have to pay for the sins of those who tried to save a few zlotys by building their house on known flood plains? As your editorial points out, climactic warming means that many governments will have to begin setting up flood insurance systems for those living in low-lying areas – and making the painful choice to cut off those who haven't taken heed of the warnings.

   Chris Meyer

   San Francisco, CA