Tax The Wealthy More?

[FTJoe]

As long as the tax is voluntary and the government isn't a monopoly of force then I don't have a problem with it.

Knowing I'm capable of (some might say I enjoy) being the devil's advocate, whatcha think about this?

http://www.dailyfinance.com/story/real-estate/tennessee-fire-ignites-national-debate-on-public-services/19665148/?icid=sphere_copyright

...on September 29, when the sixteen-year-old resident of Obion county, Tennessee left the fire unattended while he took a shower. When he returned, a nearby shed was aflame. Despite his efforts to stop the fire with a garden hose, it soon spread to his grandparents' home.

Lance's grandfather, Gene Cranick, called the nearby South Fulton fire department to request assistance. But, despite his increasingly frenzied calls and his offer to pay for help, the fire department refused to send trucks to the scene: apparently, Cranick hadn't paid his yearly fire subscription, a $75 fee that some rural residents in Obion have to pay in order to get fire department service. As a result, firefighters left his house to burn.

Eventually, the fire department responded to the calls for distress -- when the fire spread to a neighbor's property. Unlike Cranick, the neighbor had paid his fee, so the firemen sprayed down his lawn. Afterward, they watched as Cranick's house was destroyed. In addition to burning all the family's possessions, the fire also claimed the lives of the Cranick's three dogs and one cat.

A Nationwide Response

For commentators on both the left and right, the Cranick conflagration was a sterling example of the effects of a pay-as-you-go model of government services. Radio and television commentator Glenn Beck was quick to jump into the fray, siding with the fire department: "Those who are just on raw feeling are not going to understand...If you don't pay the $75, then that hurts the fire department. They can't use those resources and you would be sponging off of your neighbor's $75...This is important for America to have this kind of debate, because, A, this is the kind of stuff that is going to happen. We are going to start to have to have these kinds of things."

I had to include Glenn ****'s comments (did I spell that wrong?). Now we don't know all the details, nor do I think I really care. But "raw emotions aside", these guys actually pulled up outside, watched it burn as they poured water on the neighbor's lawn to make sure they didn't have a fire. Three dogs and a cat are dead, I have no idea if they knew whether or not people were in there, and all for the sake of closing a budget gap. How much you think the lawsuit would be worth if they made had made a mistake and not realized the homeowner did pay?

Also, not for nothing, but $75 a person does not cover the cost of the fire dept as noted. They tried to charge people $500 after the fact but could only collect 50% of the fee so they went for the subscription. My point is it is subsidized by taxes, and if these people pay any part of those taxes, shouldn't they get a little water at least? ;-)