Fireman, Police, and Teachers. Repubs think their making such big bucks it is pulling the whole danged economy down.
That seems to be Rmoney's stated solution to fix the economy. But would it? Remember we do not live world by ourselves and each person doing something has an effect one others.
What I am going to be talking about requires some thinking through and doing some 'what if' questioning. So repubs you can leave now and keep repeating the mantra you have been instructed to. This goes deeper than your thought processes allow.
Today I'll look at what affect this might have when fire departments are impacted.
What would firing some fireman and lowering the existing firemen’s pay and retirement pay do? My thinking is:
It would mean you might sustain more fire damage if you have a fire. Fewer Fireman means it might take them longer to get the equipment set up. They also might have to call back up in from another fire station sooner than before to get enough man (or women) power to get the fire under control and stop it from spreading to other houses, apartments, or businesses.
The training would be impacted. Since newly trained firemen (When I say firemen I mean men and women ) might be fired. If firemen close to retirement are fired then all their expertise would be lost so younger less experienced firemen might do things wrong more often, not because they aren't smart but because they might be called to handle something they have never handled before that a more experience fireman might have done several times.
Sometimes fires are set on purpose. Robbers set fires to burn evidence, like their fingerprints. Some people just like to burn things and watch them burn. Some people burn a property to collect fire insurance. So in addition to putting out a fire, firemen are trained to check out things that may help them solve those issues later or discover the best way to fight the fire now. For example if it seems like there are multiple places separate from each other burning, like someone started several fires to make sure the fire really destroyed the structure, they have to put out several hot spots at the same time.
Do you want your fire insurance payment delayed because the fire department hasn't completed their investigation yet. And I know from experience insurance companies will leave no stone unturned to hold onto their money as long as possible. Because some people cheat we all pay the price.
Firemen may have to rescue people or animals in the house and to do that puts their lives at risk. Would you rather have some one at their first fire looking for you hiding under your bed with your child, dog, or cat as the house burns around you or some one who had done search and rescue hundreds of times.
Firemen in today’s world are also the first to arrive in a medical emergency. Do you want them to have the training and tools to save your life when seconds count or do you want some one to explain to your heirs why it wasn’t their fault you died before they could save you.
When I was in the Navy we all received training in how to put out a fire on a ship. Part of the training was for our group to enter a 'building’ with a burning tank of fuel in it and put it out. We trained for several days and then did some dry runs. After all this wasn't a computer simulated fire. It was a real fire and we could all die or be injured if we didn’t all do what we were trained to do. We had to do it twice because one of our guys panicked and ran out of the building as the rest of us put out the fire. I've got the utmost respect for every firemen. You couldn't pay me a million dollars to do their job. The are not paid enough and need all the support they can get.
Since Rmoney’s plan would be to reduce pay and benefits what would that do. Well cities would have to lower their standards as the more qualified recruits could find a better paying, less dangerous job. If my life and property is at risk I'd like to have the highest quality firemen I could get. Would I believe the retirement benefits they were promising me as a new recruit would be there when I retired. Not if the reason I was being hired was because the benefits had been reduced and they were giving lower benefits to me than when I applied.
Cutting back would have other long term effects too. Like equipment purchases. Would you want a fire truck speeding to your fire or life threatening emergency with bad tires? How about one of it’s two ladders not working right. What if the pipe to the fire hydrant bursts as they try to use it due to maintenance not being done on the water lines to save bucks. OOPs!!!
Well these are just some of the problems Rmoney’s, ‘not thought through’ ideas might cause. I’ll bet you can think of others. Let us know in comments.
Today I wrote of firemen and will soon write about my ideas of what affect his policies might have on Police and Teachers.