Now Grumpy Bulldog will get on his soapbox for a moment. A former paramedic once told me that the people most ungrateful for first responders like paramedics, fire departments, and cops aren't the big rich people but the ordinary middle-class types. A lot of these people probably smoke from the Tea Party bag of rugged individualism...until a crisis strikes. Then they're all "Where's the fucking cops? Where's the fire department? Someone help me!!!"
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So really, let's stop talking out of both sides of our mouths on this stuff. Let's not say, "You guys are heroes!" and then go to the polls and cut their funding. Not all heroes are rich guys like Bruce Wayne or Tony Stark. Most of them don't make much, especially for the stress they're under.
Keep them well-funded and when the next disaster strikes you can feel confident that someone will be there to give you a helping hand when you need it. Honor your everyday heroes by keeping them on the job.
Rant over.
If you want to see another Everyday Hero, read this post on Briane Pagel's Thinking the Lions about a heroic candy company!
Tomorrow I review Young Hearts (Children of Eternity #3) by Claire Lachance...
10 comments:
EXCELLENT EXCELLENT EXCELLENT.
Here's the world the Libertarians want to live in: A Tennessee Fire Department let a home burn because the homeowners hadn't paid $75 in subscription fees:
http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/06/tennessee-firefighters-watch-home-burn/
In Colorado Springs, taxpayers who object to property taxes are "voluntarily" opting to pay for garbage cans and street lights,
http://www.governing.com/topics/mgmt/Colorado-Springs-DIY-government.html
a ridiculous set of affairs if you parse it out. "I don't want to pay the city to keep the parks clean, so instead I will pay the city to keep the parks clean... as long as they don't call it a tax."
And meanwhile, city pools are closed and buses don't run. You can argue that a city shouldn't provide a bus service or a pool, I suppose, or even street lights, but the idea is that some things are a common good, and the deal with government is not a quid pro quo. It's not "I get out what I put in." It's "These things are public goods and we should all share in their cost, even if we don't use them."
Keep up the fight.
I agree with you.
It's sad how much the most important people in our society are paid compared to the least important. Paris Hilton is a millionaire while policemen scrape by. Great points Pat.
You make a strong point, and one I totally agree with. It was a travesty recently when the Republicans filibustered a bill to help pay medical expenses for 9/11 first responders, many of whom now have life-threatening illnesses.
Superb post my friend. We give subsidies and tax breaks to people because they're good friends of the right politician, yet we pinch pennies when it comes to those who really matter. NUTS!
S
Superb post my friend. We give subsidies and tax breaks to people because they're good friends of the right politician, yet we pinch pennies when it comes to those who really matter. NUTS!
S
You have no idea how convoluted it is here in Colorado Springs. After the military boom that caused everyone to move here thanks to the cheap cost of living, the city realized that it didn't have the resources to actually handle everyone. So, awesome.
I'll go back to what I said last time: the fact that people are willing and eager to wait in line for hours to spend hundreds of dollars on a new igadget but complain about supporting the community is just wrong.
I agree. We need these people and this isn't area where we want to make cuts.
Our local fire department and police are particularly awesome, which makes it easy to vote yes.
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