OMG... I wish those firefighters get their ass sued, lose all their properties, get into jail and their wives go with their neighbors (yes, with all of them!!)...
Fuck off.
OMG... I wish those firefighters get their ass sued, lose all their properties, get into jail and their wives go with their neighbors (yes, with all of them!!)...
Fuck off.
Another reason to just rent and have renter's insurance. City wants to fuck you and let your place burn down? No problem. Say hello to that sweet insurance check.
And it's a huge headache for our healthcare and hospital system when people default on their bills, but private healthcare systems aren't bankrupt yet...
Should the fire have been put out once the homeowner offered to pay costs? Absolutely. Make the homeowner sign a contract agreeing to pay for the costs. If they don't get paid after that, then call in the lawyers and collection agents. That's the risk that the Government already takes with charging taxes (tax evaders that the Government spends time/money to catch), affiliate networks take with fronting payouts, and any business with accounts receivable takes. Why the fire department is any different is beyond me.
I'll throw this quote back in here since you guys may not have seen it:
"The reason why men enter into society is the preservation of their property." (John Locke - Second Treatise on Civil Government)
Nobody can discount the influence that Locke had on the Constitution - it wasn't brought down from the heavens. Much of what went into the making of our Constitution can be traced back to Locke's theories on society. To discount Locke, is to discount our Constitution. If putting out a fire isn't preservation of property then what is it?
Yeah, its a bad situation but I see why they wouldn't take after-the-fact payment, it destroys the incentive for a pre-paid system.
bullshit
you know how much that would cost?
what if you call them up and they say "sure- we can save your house, it's gonna be $26,000 and we're gonna need 10% up front?"
This feeling of bravado goes down REAL quick when you fall short of anything but the 35% tax bracket and realize, like "Joe the plumber" that you can't actually afford shit despite all the big talk of free market this and capitalism or death that.
I'll throw this quote back in here since you guys may not have seen it:
"The reason why men enter into society is the preservation of their property." (John Locke - Second Treatise on Civil Government)
Hmmm $75 before...or tens of thousands afterwards.
I still see a lot of incentive.
YEs, most people in the county have probably paid their $75 now after seeing this go on, and that is all well and good for the county.
BUT..you don't think all of those same people would have paid the $75 fee IF the fire department would have just agreed, put out the fire, and then billed the farmer for $75,000.
Thats still a hell of a lot of incentive.
I doubt he has $75,000 to pay them and a small town of 2,500 people probably doesn't have a huge budget to take the gamble that they may or may not get paid the money from their fines after putting out fires.
I doubt he has $75,000 to pay them and a small town of 2,500 people probably doesn't have a huge budget to take the gamble that they may or may not get paid the money from their fines after putting out fires.
The fire service was provided by the town, not the county so the cost is spread out amongst a much higher tax base than you state.
Also, there seems to be this belief among some people on here (and Glenn Beck) that think these people can't bargain for terms outside of the original $75 coverage because they can just on a whim decide to not pay the negotiated fee and there be no recourse for the dept/govt. Liens, they exist for a reason, look them up if you don't understand them.
The fire dept. may have been on sound legal ground to let it burn, but you have to be obtuse to believe a market appropriate transaction could not have been struck that would have allowed the home owner's house to be saved and the dept not risk getting fucked.
AND its going to cost a hell of a lot more than 75k for a brand new house.
If you're an arsonist, and you happen to get a list of houses who have not paid the $75 fee...if they refuse to put out the fire, will they still do an investigation to see what started the fire? Is there anything left to investigate once the house has burned down?
Doubtful. We are talking about rural Tennessee here. It wasn't even a "real" house. It was a doublewide trailer home.