There’s been a lot of talk about the South Fulton, Tennessee fire department standing around while Gene Cranick’s house burned to the ground all because Cranick didn’t pay a $75 subscription fee to the fire department, but I think there is one key point being missed here; what’s to come.
First off, as a former fire fighter, this story enrages me like there’s no tomorrow. It really is America at its worst and if we continue down this path then this country is lost. From all the reading I have done, the fire fighters are not to blame on this, but rather the city of South Fulton. The Cranick’s home was outside of the actual city limits, which is what prompted this “subscription fee”. When I was a firefighter we covered a lot of unincorporated areas and never did anything like this. It fell under a system that has been around since the start of this nation and has worked wonders; a system called “mutual aid’”.
But what has lead us to the point where the basic premise of governments responsibility to protect its people and property is overshadowed by the mighty dollar? The biggest contributor is Republican economics. As our economic disparity continues to rise, cities are seeing the coffers dry up. Less income for the residents means less taxes collected. It’s economics 101 and it’s ugly. Let’s take a quick look at the demographics of South Fulton:
As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 2,517 people, 1,081 households, and 729 families residing in the city.
[SNIP]
The median income for a household in the city was $27,462, and the median income for a family was $35,608. Males had a median income of $27,458 versus $20,212 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,983. About 15.0% of families and 16.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.2% of those under age 18 and 18.1% of those age 65 or over.
With that low of a median income in such a sparsely populated area, the actual money the city brings in is pretty dismal. It also makes you think that while people like Glenn Beck look at $75 as pocket change, that can be the difference between starving and having something in the belly for a person like Gene Cranick.
So what would have been a better outcome to this? I would say letting the fire department do their job and then billing Cranick for the services afterwards. There’s also a chance that Cranick’s insurance, if he did have any, would have helped pay the tab. Now he is out a house and who knows if insurance will even pay for it, given the circumstances.
And speaking of insurance, this just opened a nasty little door in the field of home owners’ insurance. They will now have to verify that people are paying their “subscription fees”, which means more overhead and higher premiums. Hello Pandora’s Box!
Houses can be rebuilt and property can be replaced, but is this just the start of darker times in public services?
A lot of cities already charge for other things like ambulance services. Most engage in a practice known as “soft billing”. The way soft billing works is the insurance company is sent a bill if you call for an ambulance. If you don’t have insurance then there is no bill, but there are a number of communities that will bill you and even take you to collections if you don’t pay. This system leads to a vicious cycle in our health care. The city collects from the insurance company, the insurance company in turn collects from the policy holders and the policy holders have less money in their pocket to support things like increased tax levies for better public safety service. Rinse, lather and repeat.
When will it stop? How can we break this cycle and get back to a point in time where America takes care of her people?
South Fulton is just the tip of the iceberg. Knowing how these things snowball and given the economic state of middle America, it’s only a matter of time before we see this story spread like wildfire into medical care or police protection. “Oh you’re choking? Sorry, but I see you haven’t paid your yearly fee. Guess we have to let you choke”, or, “Well we would love to find your abducted child, but your account is delinquent”. Is this really the kind of America we want?
As I’ve been reading reactions on different blogs from this story I have lost even more of what little respect I have for the right. I see wingnut sites supporting and cheering on the decision of South Fulton. They are beating their chests and grunting “limited government!” It exemplifies the right’s inability to think beyond today. They don’t seem to realize that they are one layoff or forgotten bill away from this kind of thing happening to them.
Again – Republican economics is the main culprit here. Their policies have starved the middle class and that has caused the cities we live in to also suffer financially. Government needs a way to survive and that way is through taxes. It has been that way since the start of our civilization and we remain that way as long as we walk this planet. Want to bring in more money to the government, either federal or local, without a need to raise taxes? Fine, then let the people make more money!
And a final thought on this nasty chapter of “The Demise of America”; how can the Republicans, who claim we are a “Christian nation”, continue to do so with this kind of stuff happening? What true Christian would stand by for their silver while a neighbor’s house burned? If you believe that is Christianity then you really need to go back to day one of Sunday school.