Those of you who know me away from the computer screen (and many of you who do know me only via the screen) know that I tend very conservative. I mean, very conservative. I’m not a libertarian for a variety of reasons, largely because libertarianism is based on a very idealistic view of people and society. (The best argument against letting people do everything on their own with very few controls can best be witnessed when you see what passes for pop culture.) Nor am I of the anarcho-capitalist mindset that so many online edgelords think is cool.
I do believe there is absolutely a role, albeit a limited one, for government. I also believe that which government must do, it must do well. That requires adequate funding. Notice that I didn’t propose a blank check. It also requires accountability for results. It requires transparency. When a Chevy will do, you don’t have a God-given right to a Cadillac or even a Mercedes. It’s not your money. It is the taxpayers’ money. Many in public service have lost sight of this. I call this “other people’s money.” And like my libertarian friends, I don’t believe you have an automatic right to other people’s money. As Justice John Marshall said in 1819, “The power to tax is the power to destroy.”
So, on that note, let’s segue into a part of the public sector that has felt an entitlement to your money. This part of the public sector operates as if it has an entitlement to your money as they claim they provide an essential service that no one else provides. They claim a long history dating in this country back to Benjamin Franklin. Their union members (and union leaders) as well as their administrators work hand in glove to ensure that they receive more and more from the public trough. They ask for, and receive, spacious facilities and state of the art equipment and technology to accomplish their stated goals. When they come to the public or governing bodies for more of your money, they present themselves as community heroes and public servants who are asking for “pennies a day” or “the cost of a cup of coffee per week.” If you ask them for results or challenge their narrative, you’ll be told that you’re threatening their very mission unless you give them everything you want. Oftentimes, these “dedicated public servants” use taxpayer money to lobby for more money for themselves, for more unionized jobs, and for higher salaries. And while some suburban and rural areas get this delivery of a crucial public service down, many urban areas are an abject failure at providing this core, essential service that we as Americans expect from the government, primarily at the local level, but also with significant state and federal funding. And while many of their union members are right of center, their union and union leadership take far left progressive positions that alienate many of their members and much of the public. The oversight of these local service providers typically is performed by locally elected bodies who often function as little more than a rubber stamp for the administration who will approve tax increases and bonds in lockstep.
For my friends on the right, this sounds a lot like the public school system that has become a bete noir for the right. But this time, I’m NOT talking about the public schools, the teachers’ unions, school funding, or education politics. It sure sounds like them, doesn’t it?
Surprise. I’m talking about the American fire service. I’m talking about their left-leaning union – the International Association of Firefighters. I’m talking about their association for administrators – the International Association of Fire Chiefs. Let’s face it — have you ever seen the IAFF and the IAFC not present a united front to ask for more staffing, more apparatus, and more stations? When you oppose more money to what I’ll now call “big fire,” you’re demonized as un-American, as not caring if people die, and for being an all-around heartless SOB. And just like the education system, these folks make themselves out to be your local heroes. The reality is that, in many locales, building codes and modern construction have drastically decreased the need for structural fire suppression. That means that the American fire service has had to find new roles to remain relevant. In many communities, that’s meant expansion into EMS, whether it’s basic life support level first response, advanced life support (AKA, paramedic) first response, or operating an EMS transport division as part of the fire department. In fact, in many places in my home state of Texas, fire departments that are operated as a special local government district (we call them Emergency Services Districts here) have gone right back to the taxpayers for a second district to fund EMS separately even though the EMS service is part of the same fire department. Especially in larger departments, EMS is seen as a distraction from the “core” suppression mission. I know of at least one urban fire department in Texas where EMS duty on an ambulance is called “riding the penalty box.” All too many fire departments mandate paramedic certification for hiring or promotion. All of this creates a culture where prehospital medicine is shunned, where the funding for the EMS side of the department is bare bones, and where EMS training “meets minimum standards.” Look no further than the average fire department’s social media. Hashtag Always Training is almost invariably about structural fire suppression training. This isn’t only happening in metro areas with big departments. I’ve watched a volunteer fire department’s membership approve a $15,000 drop tank without discussion while they claimed poverty in not being able to buy an EZ-IO device for their paramedics and while their advanced airway supplies were stored in a gym bag. Like the school districts, those elected or appointed officials overseeing Big Fire rarely question anything the chief or the union presents them. Rather, they just turn on the spigot for more money. In fact, in Texas, there’s even an association (that lobbies the Texas Legislature with district funds) for these Emergency Services District commissioners. Just like the association for school board members. And just like many urban school districts and their lack of results with their core mission of education, all too many fire departments, particularly bigger ones, fail at providing competent, let alone GOOD, EMS care. Just like public education, Big Fire in many locales has become little more than a jobs and public works program funded by tax dollars while everyone else complains about rising property taxes. For everyone who complains about school districts’ spending on things like football stadiums that rival some NCAA programs, I’ve yet to see anyone question a suburban or rural fire department buying a tiller ladder that’s well over $1 million.
I honestly don’t oppose the fire service. Truth be told, in a lot of locales, the fire service even does a good job at the delivery of emergency medical care. But I want the public, especially those on the right, to view the fire service and their requests for MORE money with the same skepticism and demands for results, accountability, and transparency that they rightly demand of public education. It’s the public’s money. Those entrusted with it have an obligation to do better with it.
