There are many things that man can control that fall under the category of predictable.
The fires that are currently raging in Southern California fit squarely in that category. There is no doubt that there will be fires. None whatsoever. They have been burning on a recurring basis since man arrived and decided to live in those areas.
As the population density increased, they felt it necessary to pay taxes to accomplish three things – Education, Policing and Fire control. All three of which are purportedly there to serve the public. In the interest of those who pay the taxes to pay for those services.
Those taxes and their uses should never be there for the vanity of government.
When did we decide that it was up to appointed or elected officials to siphon tax dollars away from our needs and protections and instead use them for variable and capricious “needs of the government.” That’s your money going to correct a perceived wrong, or to save a species of fish.
Or to take care of illegal invaders to our country. Did you vote for any of that?
Education. Policing. Fire control. That’s what was voted for, and for what they paid.
I contend that the people in the LA Basin where the fires are raging were ripped off. They paid their taxes, and the fire control services are sorely lacking. If their fire departments were up to the task, and if they had contingency plans in place, this would have been a minor footnote on the nightly news and not something dominating the news cycle.
I’m very sensitive to the human factor of what’s happening there, and my wife and I have offered our home to acquaintances from Malibu who have lost everything other than the clothes on their backs and their vehicle. I not only feel for these people, but I’m there for them, and I’ll be donating to the charities of my choice that are providing disaster relief.
But it’s back to those taxes that they paid. They went elsewhere. Fire departments were not permitted to do what they needed to do to prevent this kind of disaster. Budgets were reduced to take care of other emergencies – like saving the smelt … because that fish is just so damn important to the taxpayers.
The level of incompetence there is simply stunning. You want to acknowledge a dozen different genders, but you can’t deliver water to a fire hydrant to protect the public? Really?
I’m right back to those three things that the people paid for – Education, Policing and Fire control. I understand that there was a reservoir project that is behind schedule and over budget.
Neither of which happens because you have competent people running it and proper budgets, but you do not, under any circumstances, put those who pay your salary at risk.
That’s exactly that these public officials did in California.
Most city’s gravity-fed municipal water systems are designed with a reserve that will serve the community for a few weeks (if all the pumps and reservoirs fail) under normal circumstances … or one fire.
You plan for that caveat. “Or one fire”
You do whatever you need to do so “the boss” (also known as the taxpayer) does not get burned out of a house and home when the inevitable fire predictably arrives. Since you know it’s going to happen, you can plan to prevent it.
Or you can take the taxpayers’ money and use it on things they never wanted or needed. Ultimately, you’ll pay the price for this, as will the rest of the country, since we can count on the federal government to extort the funds needed from you and me for “disaster relief.”
All over a predictable event that was completely preventable.
