Some months ago, I posted an alternative, more patriotic, capitalist State of the Union address – one that lovers of liberty and warriors against Statism would like. In it, I envisioned the President embracing true capitalism and offering solutions to wipe out the scurge of Socialism. For those who may have missed that rambling screed, here it is.
But I am heartened to note that I am not the only one to have realized how widespread the infection of socialism was in this nation. Specifically, I would like to commend Obion County, Tennessee, the city of South Fulton, and its mayor – the honorable David Crocker. Thank you to ThinkProgress for alerting me to this story.
If I may recount to you a portion of my earlier entry, I noted the following;
“We don’t need a tax to support firefighting efforts. Private firefighting companies can and will allow patriotic Americans to only pay when they themselves have an applicable emergency. Most Americans go their entire lives with no occasion to call on a fire department. Why the hell should they be forced to pay for firefighters to put out a fire started by some loser smoking in bed?”
See, Mr. Crocker and the all Republican county commission that he sits on also decided long ago that Fire fighting services provided by local government and paid for by taxes are antithetical to the capitalist ideals of this great nation. South Fulton instituted a very ingenious program to do away with entitlements like public fire fighting departments supported by burdensome taxation – they came up with the novel concept of fee-based subscription fire fighting services. And recently we saw patriotism and the American way in its full red, white and blue glory.
It seems that a miserly gentleman decided that he didn’t need to pay the $75 annual subscription price for the services of Obion county Fire Department. As a result, his home burned to the ground while firefighter stood by, unfortunately unable to help without setting a precedent that could have led to more citizens getting tempted by the evil lure of Socialism.
Here is the local TV report on the matter;
Once again, on behalf of all soldiers in the army against tyranny, I’d like to thank Mayor Crocker, the County Commission and all of the brave firefighters for letting capitalist Darwinism run its course. Perhaps this will give all those socialist-curious Obamaites pause to reflect on the error of their ways.
God Bless America.
Once Upon a Paradigm 
Looks like KARMA rulz! Thanks!
Wow.
I just have to wonder what was going through the minds of those firefighters who just had to stand there.
Probably it was…. we have to stay here and make sure the
house next door does not catch fire!
Well, I can tell you that the Fire Chief wasn’t just standing there. He was getting punched by the son of the guy who’s home was on fire.
Another local news report on the story said that the son was arrested for aggravated assault.
http://www.wpsdlocal6.com/news/local/More-fallout-following-house-fire-104113489.html?skipthumb=Y
Too bad the cops weren’t charging the Fire Department as subscription fee for their services.
You know we’re headed in the wrong direction when this passes for moral, ethical and lawful conduct.
This is what I just posted over at Dagblog on this story, which does take a slightly different angle on this, mainly in response to those that see the fire department as the “bad guys” in this story. They were between a rock and a hard place I think, given the realities of running a fire department with limited resources:
Well, I think there is a nuance here that is being missed. This is a city fire department. The people who live in the county don’t pay taxes that support the fire department and that is why the fee was implemented. In this particular case, the resident was well aware of the fee and had the money to pay it, but as he Gene Cranick stated “I thought they’d come out and put it out, even if you hadn’t paid your $75, but I was wrong.”
Right now in the area I live we are experiencing massive government cuts because the people decided they didn’t want to pay so much in property taxes. Of course they still want the city and county governments to keep doing what they have been doing. I don’t know Gene Cranick and I am sorry he lost his house. But there is a part of me that sees this as a cautionary tale to all those who mindlessly say “cut taxes” and “less government is better government.”
Had the firefighters put out the fire, how many people in the rural area would pay their fees. And how many would have just waited until they personally needed it and then pay the fee. The point of such a fee, as well as with taxes in general, in this regard, is that some people will end up paying for a service they won’t need. In essence, subsidizing those who do need the service. And it has worked for a long time. And people should take pride in this little socialism in their lives, that they helped the whole community be a better place through a financial sacrifice on their part. (there is the enlightened interest aspect of it that maybe they will need the service) Just like the person who doesn’t have any children pays for the schools.
I agree with you that the firefighters are put in a very tough spot, but I do think that like doctors or cops or even lifeguards that they have a responsibility to act when they see an emergency.
Is the cop obligated to stop a burglary while out of his jurisdiction or while off duty? No. Do they frequently? Yes.
Perhaps the firefighters could have ‘volunteered’ their efforts rather than watch the man’s life go up in smoke. Don’t firefighters frequently volunteer in large numbers to fight brush fires and forest fires outside of their jurisdiction when there are no lives but only property at stake?
I do agree though about the homeowner bearing sone responsibility for this, and since the subscription wasn’t mandatory, he has little to complain about. But what about those who cannot afford the subscription? Are they out of luck.
Those in love with this notion of capitalist survival of the fittest need to look at this as a peek at what’s to come if some people get their way.
I think your question as to whether or not the firemen could’ve volunteered is a very good one, MSNY. I am amazed none of them considered it. They could have easily explained after the fact, in an Op-Ed piece in the paper and in the next county meeting that this was an unprecedented move on their part, a volunteer, unpaid effort but that it was a one-time only affair.
People in this county would then be a) aware that if they don’t choose to pay the fee the fire department will not choose to volunteer and b) more likely to simply pay the fee from now on, having learned a lesson.
Win-win on everyone’s part.
I don’t think that it would unfold like that. It would be “you save so-and-so’s house, why won’t you save mine even though I didn’t pay the fee either.”
And if isn’t okay to let this house burn, then basically it isn’t okay to let the next one burn down, and so on.
But then again I might be in a little jaded place right now.
No, you’re right. It’s just I feel badly for the family and for the firefighters all at the same time.
But yes, if they had volunteered, no announcement later stating it was a one-time volunteer effort would really get through to people, would it. Like you said, folks would just say, “Well you did it for THEM…why not me?”
You’re not being jaded in this case, you’re being realistic. There is a difference.
But I think this speaks to the question of when do they step in?
Do they step in if they know that there is a gas main, or propane heating system that can explode and damage or hurt neighbors? What if a pet is trapped inside? Does an animal rate spending the resources?
And let’s suppose that people do purchase the subscription. What would stop the FD from raising the rates? Healthcare companies don’t have any probelm doing it, and there are lives at stake there. How much is too much to pay? I mean, the tea-bagged hate regulation. Why should we dictate how much these FD’s can charge?
What about competition? Why should there be a monopoly? I’m sure we can find some Mexicans willing to perform these dangerous jobs for a cut rate?
Where does this end?
I think we all agree the system sucks. That this is libertarian crapolla. All of your questions are valid. (although I would probably most fire depts wouldn’t risk the lives of fire fighers for a single pet) But the people elected the politicans that created it and now at least they are stuck with it for the time being. I think it is just important to note that the fire department didn’t ask for this arrangement. But running a fire department is expensive and the revenue has to come from somewhere.
I remember one conversation with a fireman and I can’t recall the exact figures but most of their calls were false alarms, but they were costly all the same.
Personally, I am definitely not in love with this, and shows the downside to the libertarian ideals. But it is a system created by (republican) elected officials. Maybe they might want to get some socialist Democrats into office to fix the situation.
But what about those who cannot afford the subscription? Are they out of luck.
All we know is that this particular household could afford it. My guess is if someone who owned some land but was in dire financial situation (e.g. had been laid off) and couldn’t pay the basically $6 a month fee, the fire department would have found some kind of plan so they would be covered.
Then their closest neighbors should try to lend a hand, perhaps, and help cover the fee. I’d gladly do it for a neighbor in need….plus it would ensure their fire wouldn’t spread to my house.
The fire department could have fundraising events twice a year to help create a pool for those in need as well.
There are all sorts of ways this could be handled better.
Of we could just…impose a tax that helps pay for the cost of the fire department. But that would be socialistic.
Statist!! Hater of Liberty!! Keep those hateful thoughts to yourself.
LOL!
Well, that would NOT be the patriotic tea bag way, would it? Suppose there were somehow several fires. I think some people would be mighty pissed if their home burned while the FD was otherwise occupied perfoming charitable community service to the needy.
Here’s a link about how the repub candidate for governor of WI wants to roll back the govt grant for high speed rail from Milwaukee to Madison:
It’s off-topic. But then again it’s not! Presumably all the repubs like to drive from Milwaukee to Madison. High speed rail would ultimately help the economy, let alone be less wasteful of energy than automobiles.
Isn’t it interesting how a repub can argue for a city to build a sports arena but deny rail service for people? I suppose the Tea Partiers would rather each build their own personal rail line! 😉
They’d rather have their arenas and sit around watching sport like the Romans eventually did. Sad, sad, sad.
Lis, you are so right… yes, sad.
From an article by Kevin Drumm in Mother Jones:
Courtesy of the world wide web, for example, here’s “A Presentation Regarding The Establishment And Implementation of a County-Wide Fire Department,” dated March 18, 2008, describing exactly how fire services work in the County of Obion. Also included in this document: a plan to create an Obion County Fire Department by merging the services of the various municipal fire departments in the county along with a plan to raise about half a million dollars to fund it. Revenue would come from either a 0.13 cent property tax increase, a fee on electric meters, or a flat subscription fee.
The county commissioners of Obion County apparently decided against this plan. Didn’t want to increase taxes, I suppose. As a result, Gene Cranick’s house burned down.
[emphasis mine]
http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/10/firefighting-obion-county
Having read the comments at DagBlog, I am more and more inclined to agree with your points, trope. This guy could’ve easily paid his $75 annual fee and this would not have happened. MSNY has brought up some good questions as well here, but all in all, the whole situation sucks but the fire department is not to blame for it. Thanks for helping me realize that.
The county, of course, is another issue.
This entire thing mostly denies we are social animals and that we succeed or fail as a social unit.
In the extreme, if only one in one hundred persons is perceived as successful, the perception is likely erroneously skewed. The same applies the other way where minimum, but deplorable, standards of sustenance are an acceptable norm.
In between these we have a norm that supports the needs of the majority of the social unit. The exercise of social bias across the entire unit is where the system frequently and most commonly fails.
This is largely the case where government, through the political, intentionally implements a skewed standard or ignores at the bureaucratic level a standard which is otherwise socially responsible.
We presently have both of the above. That is, a legislatively class biased scheme and bureaucratic corruption.
This is largely a reflection of the makeup of our legislative and bureaucratic bodies which are decidedly class imbalanced. Holding an expectation that a different outcome will be produced where such an imbalance exists defies what we know of human nature. Legal dispensation from accountability derived of this illogical scheme offers a regenerative feedback to this system and causes it to grow more imbalanced over time.
We see the effect of this where the US House of Representatives mostly succeeds in producing legislation which is class neutral but which cannot overcome the Senatorial hurdle where class is the vastly overriding factor. The handwriting on the wall suggests this will grow worse after November.
Very well said.
One house on fire in a neighborhood is ENOUGH! One Fourth of July (I kid you not!)….. EARLY… like around 3 or 4 am, the whole neighborhood assembled to watch the firemen. Naturally we were all awakened by the sirens. For many of us, it was the “house across the street” – but for a couple of families it was “the house next door”.
It seems to me that almost as necessary as communities establishing a school was the establishment of a fire department. Even if the fire dept was a volunteer one, it was always viewed as a community endeavor.
One house on fire is very convincing!
I also recall watching a house on fire when I was in kindergarten. Why? It was across from the school. We went outdoors – like a fieldtrip, I guess – and we watched the whole thing.
There is nothing to bring neighbors together like the thought of a fire in the neighborhood! Tea Party folk must be people who have never seen a fire!
Trust me, one is enough!
The problem with the premise of the article is that it’s false. Having a government monopoly on a service can NEVER be “capitalist”. That would require a free market, where anyone can compete for the customers.
What we have here is a typical example of the behavior of soulless, sociopathic socialists.
The victim of their ire even offered not just to pay the $75 tax, but also to cover all of their expenses, plus any extra they wanted.
No private, for-profit fire department would have turned down that kind of revenue. Only government bureaucrats are that evil.