We have this discussion all the time where I live.
BASE jumping is viewed as irresponsible, and lots of people want them to pay for their own rescue when they mess up (when there is something left to rescue, which is surprisingly often).
Rescue is free, becouse we dont want people to wait before they report accidents fearing that they will be ruined. People dies that way, which is very expensive for the society (lost taxes, waisted education, healthcare etc.).

Now, some cliffs are off-limits for the BASE jumpers, like our Troll-Wall (as is/was "The Nose" in Yosemite). If they mess up here, they are billed for the rescue, fined and have their equipment confiscated. An australian hit the wall here some time ago (chute opened the wrong way), and his friends waited several days before they reported it (and left), the rescuers found the body some days later, between the glacier and the rock-face.

I think it's fair that people pay for their rescue or get fined if they do really stupid things, even if it's very expensive and possibly ruionus. But who decides, and how do we draw the line between stupid and just stretching the limits?
Should the Tybee 500 sailors have free rescue if they get in serious problems. What about another guy doing the same thing in a much smaller boat?