A tribute to the 99ers: We are not invisible.

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Burning Down the House.

Last September the house of Gene Cranick burned to the ground in Obion County, TN. At first, firefighters refused to respond to the call. When the South Fulton, TN fire department finally arrived, they made sure the Cranick's neighbors house was safe from the fire and left. Why? Obion County residents receive fire protection from South Fulton based on an annual $75 fee paid by the homeowner. The Cranicks did not pay the fee for 2010. The neighbor paid the fee and received fire department services. The Cranicks failed to pay the fee and received nothing.

The question is, Do you believe that watching a house burn is good public policy? No modifiers, no qualifiers, no "in this case, in that case", "if this occurs, if this doesn't happen". Is it good public policy for firefighters to stand idly by and watch a house burn to the ground, Yes or No?

Today, The US Government stands less than a month away from being unable to meet it's financial obligations. In order to avoid defaulting on it's debt, the US Congress must vote to increase the debt ceiling above it's current limit of $14.3 trillion. The results of the US defaulting on it's debt will have very serious implications and could in fact be catastrophic both at home and worldwide. For various reasons US legislators have been unable to find a way to increase the debt ceiling.

The question is, Do you believe it is good public policy for the USA to fail to meet it's financial obligations? I guess it depends on how you feel about firefighters watching a house burn to the ground.