is this what our country is coming to???

[Solon16]

Unfucking believable!!!

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[Danamal]

Policeman, Fireman and teachers and there unions are under attack all over the country because they had decent benefits that cost municipality's money so rather than honoring there agreements the lay them all off or as in this case get rid of them completely and let townships fight for themselves or amongst themselves.

Rather than attacking someone for having a quality job with a pension and healthcare why aren't you demanding the same thing?

Get tired of hearing sheep piss and moan.

[Solon16]

wait...I am confused....are you saying they were right in leting a home burn down because they didn't get a fire protection fee? if so....would you be in favor of a cop watching you get robbed and not doing anything about it because you didn't pay a cop tax....? Just wrong!!!

[Danamal]

No Solon ofcourse not.
The point of my comment is civil service jobs(essential services) are being targeted for elimination allover the country so they can steal pensions and farm out those jobs to consulting firms who then give the work to foreigners not even in this country all in the name of money and no matter what it's never enough and they don't know how to spend it in the first place.

Did you know that a manager at Taco Bell makes more money than the Hero pilot Sully?

Everything is out of whack and to watch someones house burn down is insane bordering on criminal.
It's no different than a cop not breaking up a rape because the woman didn't sign up for rape insurance,I get I'm just saying that we as a country are really losing our way and things need to change or were all doomed.

[hiwaygal]

Danamal...I just deleted a long post disagreeing with you. We're friends and I hate to 'argue' with friends. Plus, we know that we don't agree on this kind of stuff.

Instead, I would encourage you to talk to someone at your city government (City Manager, whatever you have) and ask them about the challenges they faced with the most recent budget and what challenges they have yet to face. It's not as simple as "they don't know how to spend it anyway".

I had a close up view of our city budget process this past year (my boss is Director of Public Works and our City Manager was rather forthcoming with the tough decisions we were facing)...it's disheartening to know that what the feds do throws a cloud over what the cities and states do.

[Danamal]

State of New Jersey is the perfect model for waste and incompetence.
Jersey is the most densely populated state in the country they have the highest property taxes in the nation,insurance rates highest in the nation.
Toll roads everywhere
State taxes seven percent across the board
Revenue from Atlantic city
Revenue from an entire coastline of beaches
If they as a state can't balance a budget what chance does any other state have?

Corruption is rampant at every level and just handing the system more dollars is an exercise in futility.
My feeling is any government system that is put in place will ultimately fail.
Not because of bad intent but because of man.
Whatever system is put into place they send in fifty lawyers and find the loopholes and exploit them to suit there financial gains rather than the good of the people.
So rather than being fiscally responsible or stop greasing there cronies they attack peoples jobs,THATS why there is no money or people to put out fires.
I know I'm rambling here but the point is we should all be able to get and keep a job that gives us healthcare and a pension and even if we don't there is no reason to believe that by taking someone else's we will all be better off as human beings because history has proven otherwise.


Just for the record was anybody going to tell us our tap water is unfit for consumption?
I never got the memo...

[hiwaygal]

LOL! I can understand where you are coming from!

I can't say there isn't waste and mismanagement. There is.

Our governor just audited our state DOT (washingtonpost.com) It was an interesting audit, to say the least. Since I work closely with this agency I know the redundancy and bureaucracy that costs more money than actually DOING the work. It's maddening...but we don't know how to make it stop.

The politicians won't do what they need to do (because they are worried about the next election) and in general, the population doesn't know the whole story.

The thing I keep thinking is that more often than not, we are asking our state and local governments not to just maintain their current level of services, but to provide more and better services with fewer people and even fewer resources. However, we are asking them to do it on funding/budget that haven't changed in 5 or 10 years. When was the last time you saw an increase in state or local taxes? We haven't had one in years because it's a political death knell...but we still need to do our jobs.

There has to be a balance.

Regarding the OP, it would be nice if we didn't have to add surcharges for emergency services, but it should NOT be a pre-requisite for the use of those services.

I do believe that while we all talk about the national political arena, it is much too big to effect any change. We have to focus our energies on improving our local and state governments to serve the people. This is my primary reason for wanting the responsibilities of the federal government to DECREASE.

[Solon16]

come on now...a fireman that watches a house burn down because they didn't pay a fire tax...is criminal and they should be prosecuted....IMO

[hiwaygal]

Originally Posted by Solon16

come on now...a fireman that watches a house burn down because they didn't pay a fire tax...is criminal and they should be prosecuted....IMO

I agree with that Solon...sounds like there could be a "professional negligence" kind of claim.

[King of Kings]

Originally Posted by Solon16

Unfucking believable!!!

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Just another example of worthless fucking unions "hard" at work.

[Sez.EJ]

The person in the mobile home is wrong for not paying the fee. The people in this country seem to have a sense of entitilement that is sickening. They knowingly did not pay the fee and still expect the service.. again sense of entitlement.. it's a HUGE problem in this country and it takes many forms. (don't get me started)

However, the firefighters were also wrong for allowing the home to burn... They should have saved the house.. but then they guy who did not pay the fee ....should have to pay the fee, plus some additional penalty..

[King of Kings]

Originally Posted by Sez.EJ

However, the firefighters were also wrong for allowing the home to burn... They should have saved the house.. but then they guy who did not pay the fee ....should have to pay the fee, plus some additional penalty..

Bingo. That's the heart of the matter. Everyone agrees the guy was an asshole for not paying the fee, but that doesn't mean the National Brotherhood Of Lazy Firefighters Local #0 should have stood there and watched. Put the fire out, bill the guy and add the $75 fee plus a fair fine for not paying it beforehand. Problem solved. But I guess they've decided to go the Teamsters route, extort the money from people.