tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3856837.post507699424850754031..comments2023-10-24T09:06:30.200-04:00Comments on No More Mister Nice Blog: Steve M.http://www.blogger.com/profile/11963290427258439242noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3856837.post-75890332781414148152011-12-29T14:17:42.712-05:002011-12-29T14:17:42.712-05:00The city of Boston, Massachusetts, established Ame...The city of Boston, Massachusetts, established America's first publicly funded paid fire department in 1679.[7] Fire insurance made its debut in the American colonies in South Carolina in 1736, but it was Benjamin Franklin who imported the London model of insurance. He established the colonies' first fire insurance company in Philadelphia named the Philadelphia Contributionship,[4] as well as its associated Union Volunteer Fire Company.[8]<br /><br />http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_department#HistoryDark Avengerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02220642215040873632noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3856837.post-21645594792415626892011-12-29T12:54:14.574-05:002011-12-29T12:54:14.574-05:00Yes to you both!
And Tom, 'free marketers'...Yes to you both!<br /><br />And Tom, 'free marketers' should be able to justify this as the firement taking "Good Ol' American Initiative!"<br /><br />Just as long as they take their initiative elsewhere...c u n d gulaghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00875369227763250574noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3856837.post-49002086352000253212011-12-29T12:33:28.007-05:002011-12-29T12:33:28.007-05:00As I recall, the NYC fire companies would sabotage...As I recall, the NYC fire companies would sabotage each other's equipment to gain a competitive edge. The less scrupulous ones would set fires themselves, which they would (miraculously!) be on hand to extinguish. <br /><br />Back to the future!Tom Hiltonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17575511424823512042noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3856837.post-48185779915419180512011-12-29T11:35:28.221-05:002011-12-29T11:35:28.221-05:00gulag: I'd forgotten about the NYC free-for-al...gulag: I'd forgotten about the NYC free-for-all (so to speak.) <br /><br />And wasn't it one reason behind Ben Franklin organizing volunteer fire companies in Philadelphia?<br /><br />There's a bigger story here.Yellow Doghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15340604354589650030noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3856837.post-89218716686864667552011-12-29T07:04:32.474-05:002011-12-29T07:04:32.474-05:00This is what happens when you depend on tax-payer ...This is what happens when you depend on tax-payer funded Socialistic Big Government!<br /><br />Let the free markets decide - allow for competition!<br /><br />Allow private companies to open competing Fire Departments. Leave the choice up to the consumers, and not in the hands of Government bureaucrat's.<br /><br />You, the consumer, whose house is being consumed by fire, can have a choice of which one to call, depending on the terms you can negotiate over the phone as your house is burning. Get the best rate, or pay more the closest one.<br />You decide!<br /> <br />Or, call 911, and have all of them show up, and you can negotiate rates right then and there, where you and the companies can do a quick cost-to-benefit ration, and an ROI.<br /><br />Or you could have them duke-it-out amongst themselves, on the modern Darwinian principle that the fittest company will survive the fight, and be the best one to save what's left of your home. If they're not too tired, that is.<br /><br />This was once the system in NY City back in the early-mid 18th Century.<br />I'm not saying it worked well, or at all really, but it WAS the system.<br />And a free market one at that!c u n d gulaghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00875369227763250574noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3856837.post-40163240408603397412011-12-29T06:59:42.464-05:002011-12-29T06:59:42.464-05:00Who is the VFD expecting to "mandate" th...Who is the VFD expecting to "mandate" the subscription fee? I might liken them to a paving company, too - if the paving company is owned by Tony Soprano.Danphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06368147966029831819noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3856837.post-64258005884387522932011-12-29T06:51:05.017-05:002011-12-29T06:51:05.017-05:00So, let's see. Mandatory subscription fee. Hm...So, let's see. Mandatory subscription fee. Hmmm. Smells like taxes to me.<br /><br />A 501(3c) corporation is a non-profit, and it is not usually considered to be "in business" but established to provide some social benefit, hence the tax exemption. I do believe they can't discriminate based on who pays, either. They can solicit funds through begging, but can't relate the benefits of the funding to the donors only.Carol Annhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12123896090649532723noreply@blogger.com