Re: Private fire/garbage protection

[Guest guest]

> One would

>expect the fire companies to contract with one another to cooperate in

>situations like this, given the cost of doing otherwise. I strongly

>suspect that either the frequency of such occurrences is greatly

>exaggerated or that we are not hearing the whole story.

One would expect logic and all that. But look at the other private enterprises

I might deal with. Safeway, for instance. Has the free market system ensured

that they bring me good, safe food? Or that Taco Bell really has good meat

in their tacos, or that it isn't prepared by a bunch of unmotivated teenagers?

I've heard all kinds of horror stories from friends and acquantances who

hire contractors to do work on their houses ... it's all done as cheaply as

possible, as is right in a for-profit organization.

I've never had that kind of problem with the Fire Dept. Their goal is

not to make a profit, or to work fast and cheap, or to hire the most

inexpensive labor, or to compete with anyone. They are a bunch

of idealistic guys, for the most part, who want to save lives.

Honestly, I don't see how a situation such as

>you describe above could be much of a problem with waste collection,

>given the lack of urgency.

The stories I heard were from the cities, where it DOES get urgent, esp. for

businesses. We haul our garbage to the dump, oh, once every 4 months.

>Also, there are still many areas,

>particularly rural areas with for-profit and volunteer fire protection.

>

>I'm not sure why you're bringing up having a child stuck in a tree--this

>strikes me as a perfect candidate for the type of service that should be

>purchased on demand. A fire is one thing, but I don't think that your

>child would have any trouble holding on for the extra two minutes it

>would take you to look up the nearest tree rescue service in the yellow

>pages.

Do you have kids? The folks that lived here had 6. One climbed WAY up a big, big

tree. The folks that lived here had very little money -- the hook and ladder

truck arrived anyway. Ok, hiring such a truck privately may have been what,

$200? So there goes dinner for the week? THAT is the reason I like public

services ... the amount of property taxes I pay so that 911 cars can roll

out and hook and ladder trucks arrive are well worth the investment. They

would cost more, no doubt, if the services all had to make a profit.

Plus they would be done as cheaply and quickly as possible. If the firemen

were as competant as the average Mc's guy, we are in trouble.

-- Heidi

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 1/19/04 2:51:04 AM Eastern Standard Time,

bberg@... writes:

> As for garbage collection, in my young(er) days I lived in a rural area

> with no government collection, so my parents and our neighbors arranged

> for a private company to come out and pick it up, and I don't recall

> that we had any problems. Honestly, I don't see how a situation such as

> you describe above could be much of a problem with waste collection,

> given the lack of urgency. Also, there are still many areas,

> particularly rural areas with for-profit and volunteer fire protection.

Huh? I've never even heard of government garbage collection. Here in

Taxachusetts, everywhere I've ever lived has had private garbage collection, and

I've never noticed anything remotely chaotic about it. Some people choose to

get

a town dump permit and take care of their own trash, most people sign up with

a private collector.

Chris

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 1/19/04 3:00:27 PM Eastern Standard Time,

heidis@... writes:

> I'm not sure exactly how it works here, but our waste collection

> seems to be very much controlled by the local gov't, and

> tied in with the recycling projects. The trucks may be

> contracted, I don't know, but " garbage collection " is in the

> " gov't " section. You get one bill per month, and everyone in

> one area has the same collector. You can choose to go to

> the dump yourself, which we do, mainly because of the logistics

> of our driveway and the fact we recycle most everything

> anyway.

Where I've ever lived, there are several competing private garbage

collectors. You sign up for whichever one you want, regardless of where you

are, so

long as you're within the area they wish to service. I've never looked out my

window and seen two garbage collector's fighitng over my trash, but then again,

I don't keep too close a watch.

Chris

[Guest guest]

>Huh? I've never even heard of government garbage collection. Here in

>Taxachusetts, everywhere I've ever lived has had private garbage collection,

and

>I've never noticed anything remotely chaotic about it. Some people choose to

get

>a town dump permit and take care of their own trash, most people sign up with

>a private collector.

>

>Chris

I'm not sure exactly how it works here, but our waste collection

seems to be very much controlled by the local gov't, and

tied in with the recycling projects. The trucks may be

contracted, I don't know, but " garbage collection " is in the

" gov't " section. You get one bill per month, and everyone in

one area has the same collector. You can choose to go to

the dump yourself, which we do, mainly because of the logistics

of our driveway and the fact we recycle most everything

anyway.

-- Heidi