i made a major mistake in writing about the family in Tennessee, whose house burned down while the firefighters watched. i did not do my research and thought that it was a case study of “i dont want to pay taxes but dont let my house burn down.” I was wrong, and am taking a mulligan. I originally said this is “tea party” America and again i was wrong about that. This is right wing “conservatism” in action.
A local famly in Tennessee not only had had to endure the horror of their house burning down while the fire department sat and watched. Gene kranick is someone who paid his taxes, he just did not pay the $75 extra fire protection fee. So as Mayor David Crocker said, “if homeowners don\'t pay, they\'re out of luck.” yet we are in America and who would ever think that the Fire Department would be pay for play. Not the “tea partiers” for sure since they admire the Founders so(and Ben Franklin started the Fire Departments).
So I do a little more research and like the Mystery Inc. gang, we were able to track down and expose the culprit in the end.
But last December, a county commission on which every member is a Republican voted to rescind a resolution passed years earlier that would have established a countywide fire department.
This is a is a county commission, where every seat is held by a republican.
So I apologize to the “tea partiers” and the Cranick family. This is not a case of someone wanting a service they did not pay for, nor of the tea party wanting in to change government. This is strictly a case of complete republican rule. where they have full control and ability to implement all of the ideology they subscribe too.
I have always said that republicans should have to live under the rules and policies they so desperately want. Unfortunately Mr. Cranick, found out how devastating they really are! Ayn Rand would be proud!
Or he could have paid the $75 freaking dollars. Sheesh.
He paid his taxes, so he deserved fire protection…..its a standard republican practice to lower taxes then jack up all fees like they are saving the people the money.
In order to receive the services of the fire dept. in the city which he was not a resident of, he had to pay the $75 fee. So, no he didn’t pay.
“‘I thought they’d come out and put it out, even if you hadn’t paid your $75, but I was wrong,’ said Gene Cranick.”
So in other words, he tried to play the system and suffered the consequences. I’m wondering how many $75 dollar checks the city of South Fulton received the next day from others who thought the exact same thing.
I’m really beside myself here. He was given a choice. He obviously made the wrong choice. But somehow, some way, you’ve made it the Republican’s fault. No where in the blame game you’ve played in the last two posts did you even consider that one possible solution to this situation would have been the guy paying the $75 dollars. I was almost expecting a “Bush’s fault!” And oooooh, could you have imagined if the Cranick’s were black?
I don’t feel sorry for this guy one bit. You make the choice, you better be prepared to live with the consequences. But that’s not the liberal way.
The other thing of course that goes without noting that from what it sounds, the “evil Republicans” were actually representing the interests of the community. There are places like this all over Wisconsin. Unincorporated areas that pay almost no taxes…and get no or very little services. There are people who like that way – they choose to live in areas like that.
I know many people believe that everyone should live in cities. Urban sprawl is evil an the natural order of things is to cram everyone into a small area. One of the great things about this country is that there are so many choices we can make as far as what kind of municipality we live, the location, etc.
Well said squidknuckle. This article and website for that matter illustrates the stupidity of liberals and progressives. According to Proud Progressive’s logic, he pays his basic cable bill but thinks he should be able to access pay-per-view porn for free. He’s already “paid his bill” so why shouldn’t he have whatever he wants?
Actually JD its a horrible analogy. A better one would be he pays for the full cable service yet they wont let him have CBS.
HE PAID HIS TAXES! You are correct it is definitely not the liberal way to watch someones house burn down when you have the means to put it out!
Why can’t you understand one very basic fact about this. Not that you’d ever let a fact get in your way. The taxes he paid were to municipality that does not provide fire service. You keep saying he paid his taxes – but the truth is, he likely paid very little in taxes. Again, that’s sort part of the point of choosing to live in those types of areas. The nearest fire service gives people outside of their area, the ability to pay a fee, for them to extend service.
Again – you can repeat it as many time as you want. The taxes he did pay did not cover fire service. They had nothing to do with fire service. The better analogy is like saying if you pay your federal income taxes, that means you should get city/county/state services even if you don’t pay for them. I mean “you paid your taxes!!!!”
I used to live in a town of 8000 people and yet time after time, when referendums came up, the voters overwhelmingly voted to not create their own police department. The county occasionally patrols the town and responds to any 911 calls. But they could be as much as 20 miles or more away from any town residence. In the case of a burglary, domestic disturbance or whatever, they people know full well that they might not get the help they need in time. They make that decision and live with it.
Locke i only use facts. I will give you that Elections have consequences thats not what I am saying here. In local elections, too many people dont pay attention. I live in a Village of 6000 and we have been taken over by a right wing board and it shows. Many people have too much apathy especially in terms of voting in local races. Secondly, I am sure that many people were all entranced by the ideology of the right wing and the dream of smaller government, lower taxes, etc… I am pointing out how what looks good on paper, does not translate into the real world. I am pointing out how devasting putting republican ideology into practice! I still stand by that!
He actually paid his taxes. The ALL REPUBLICAN COUNTY COMMISSION voted against a county wide fire department. They did that to say they lowered the taxes the ncharge you ala carte for services you need. EVeryone suffered in the end because of this decision.
If he sues, I hope everyone on the county commission has to ante up!
“I don’t feel sorry for this guy one bit.”
See, that’s why I chose to be a liberal rather than a conservative. Liberals may be naive at times, but conservatives are mean. I’d rather be naive than mean. I could not sit and watch another’s house burn. Not over $75. Not over some point of ideology. And I certainly wouldn’t sit on the truck and chuckle.
Then why would anyone pay the $75 if they would do it for free anyway? No one wonder you are a liberal. No logic.
“He paid his taxes.” That’s like saying I paid my taxes so I should be able to go fishing. Oh, but I didn’t purchase a fishing license. But I paid my taxes!
Just another analogy where you will come back with “but he paid his taxes!” Others have tried to reason with you, but to no avail. Why we keep trying I do not know.
Fishing is not comparable whatsoever to the fire department. If the fire department is not the commons then what is? especially when they are already there. The question is are we a “WE SOCIETY” or a “ME SOCIETY”?
Well that particular community, rural in nature, decided it was an add-on. If I don’t buy home insurance and my home burns down, the insurance company should still cover me by your logic. Or the government should. Somebody should, as long as it’s not me and accountable for myself.