Fired Up Over Fire Hydrants

Mongoose,
I saw on the Edmonson Voice where the Chalybeate fire department was trying to raise money for fire hydrants. Since when did we have to raise money for things like this? Fire hydrants seem more important than figuring out how to tax four wheeler parks and putting on horseshoe tournaments! What the heck!

Dear Tax the Fire Out of Us,
I can remember back in high school how excited I was when I had finally saved enough money to buy my first car.  I couldn't begin to tell you how much tobacco I set, topped, cut, and stripped to scrape together $650, drive it home, and plan my travels on the road to freedom. After getting insurance quotes I quickly realized I should have farmed a few more acres. A car was a luxury for me, the school bus still stopped at my house, mom or dad still offered to take me where I needed to go after school, my friends had cars too, and all of these modes of transportation were free.  But that's where we get mixed up; #1, nothing is free, school bus: tax payer funded; mom and dad, they funded; my friends, either self funded or parental funded depending on which side of the river they were from.  Fire trucks, fire hoses, fire everything else, tax payer subsidized or funded by donations. We've come to expect amenities such as a local VFD but someone has to pay for it. #2, I paid for the car but that was just the beginning, I had to keep it legal and running, fire hydrants are no different. I totally agree that our tax funded amenities are poorly prioritized and if it were up to me everything would be privatized and public services offered a la carte, pay for what you use when you use it. Until then, if you want fire hydrants we all (at least those that pay taxes--a small percentage believe it or not) will have to pay for them.