Tuesday, January 04, 2011

How come snow removal doesn't fall under the umbrella of libertarianism?


Every time any major city has a big snowfall that overwhelms the ability of the local governments to keep the roads clear (and here in Seattle, that means about three inches), you always hear someone griping about how incompetent the local government is and how come all this happened? I am wondering (only rhetorically, of course) why all the tea bag conservatives aren't complaining to the high heavens about how much money all this snow removal is costing. "I don't want my hard earned tax dollars to be used in clearing streets that I DON'T USE! Let those other people bring cat litter to get their cars out of the ditch if they want to drive there. But why isn't the road in front of my house cleared off yet?"

It just seems incredibly odd (meaning "hypocritical") that you don't hear anyone complaining about the services that government provides at whatever level -- city, county, state or federal -- when their own self-interest comes into play.

Maybe we could move to a system like that local fire fighting district in Florida. If you haven't paid your yearly snow removal fee, then you don't get to drive on cleared streets after a snowstorm.

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