- cross-posted to:
- 196@lemmy.blahaj.zone
- cross-posted to:
- 196@lemmy.blahaj.zone
cross-posted from: https://kbin.earth/m/196@lemmy.blahaj.zone/t/818591
town that always catches on fire rule
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What’s funny is that the NAZIs also prioritized the police over their fire departments hierarchically. Of course they did that so that when synagogues were burned down the cops could stop the fire departments from putting out the fire.
This is a whole new level of NAZI.
And the OP post is another form of propaganda and misinformation. The fires started in LA county a place the mayor has no control over. They have since then moved into the city of LA. Also, the LA fire department had a surplus of 20 million, so they took 17 million of that surplus and put it elsewhere. It wasn’t dedunded at all.
The police force did get an increase in funding and that should be discussed. They are basically a gang and didn’t need that extra funding and should be defunded but the fire department didn’t get funding pulled.
This is absolutely syncing right up with MAGA misinformation. I heard today that the 17 million was for a special purchase in the previous budget and wasn’t part of the regular fire department budget. Also, the racists and sexists are decrying DEI, apparently because the chief is a woman. Police funding and what it supports is a separate issue, as you point out.
“What? No, that’s not fire. It’s just a trick of the light. Look over there, it’s a transsexual! Oh no!”
Retired firefighter/paramedic here. It’s simple: Fire departments don’t normally generate revenue. It’s a money-sink and local governments don’t like that. The first things financially cut when I worked for a city of 170,000 were always services that didn’t make money. That’s just how it works.
Why police departments need heavy armor and assault accoutrements is beyond me, though. I mean, all that shit didn’t help whatsoever in most mass-shootings.
They need to understand it’s a service, not a business. Sure, a fire department doesn’t make money but, neither does a city that burns to the ground.
As a society, we have simply got to get past the notion that everything that exists needs to be monetized to be deemed worthy of existence.
You don’t even need to go that far. From a financial perspective, a fire department is a hedge bet against fire. It doesn’t exist to generate revenue, but it limit losses.
Not unlike fire insurance, except insurance only protects against the validation of property while a fire fighting team protects the real assets.
They don’t think that way. “It does not generate revenue, therefore it cannot be allowed to exist.” This philosophy is so deeply ingrained into the American psyche that it is inescapable.
Story time: American colleague and Canadian colleague are talking. Canadian says that university costs only 5000 CAD in tuition. American nearly falls out of his chair and yells, “BUT HOW DO THEY MAKE MONEY??”
And bear in mind that he was one of the most educated and successful people I have ever met, and yet he found it so difficult to fathom that a university could exist without making money. Now with that in mind, imagine convincing a large group of average people to fund public services.
This is why the USA is the way that it is.
The government isn’t a business, for fuck’s sake! Some services like police, fire, health are necessary, but don’t generate revenue! Also, even the most profitable corporations on the planet still have IT, Management, and HR departments that don’t technically make money.
It’s a money-sink and local governments don’t like that. The first things financially cut when I worked for a city of 170,000 were always services that didn’t make money. That’s just how it works.
The whole point of government is to collect taxes to pay for stuff that isn’t revenue generating to spread out the costs!
Seriously, this. Government is supposed to fund services, not profitable businesses
But that’s socialism, noooooo \s
Meanwhile the government running businesses for profit is essentially the definition of socialism lol
I saw Rebel Ridge on Netflix, could very well be that police departments generate revenue through Civil Forfeiture.
(It’s a fictional thriller, not a documentary, but very much based on modern realities)
Did somebody say John Oliver story that enrages me how fucked up America is as a country?
I see potential for a self fulfilling prophecy here:
Instead of putting funding into things that keep people from revolting put it in prepping “law” enforcement for they day they inevitably will.
(Autocorrect suggested flaw instead of law. Kinda works too, doesn’t it?)
“Flaw enforcement.”
I’m going to use that in a sentence.
I’m always curious about post like these. Are you suggesting that the firefighters failed here? That if there are more firefighters this fire wouldn’t have happened? What would more firefighters have done? Could they block the high winds? Are they able to Make It Rain more?
Uh, maybe they could have called in another of our own fire fighting planes instead of of relying on Canada for an extra one? Better training, better contingency plans, installation of fire breaks, more input into city infrastructure like fire water ponds here and there to supply water? What the hell are you trying to get at when there are numerous things they could have done with more funding both in the past and at this very moment?
What training stops this fire? What amount of fire department budget allows them to redo all the zoning in the wealthy part of Los Angeles? Really I find that maybe the most absurd part of your comment. Yeah I’m sure they’ll have real sway over the nimbys. You think this budget cut is the reason they don’t have an entire another plane and the crew to run it? And one single plane would have been the difference?
What I’m getting at is this is all fucking nonsense. No a 17 million cut to the firefighter budget is not why this fire happened. This is climate change. This is dryer windier conditions leading to fire. It doesn’t take $17 million dollars to fix that. It takes massive societal change. You people are always looking for quick easy answers to everything and it’s just absurd.
Is this true? Lots of disinformation flying around about the fire dept in LA. I haven’t gotten around to fact checking for myself.
I’ve heard the fire dept bill was passed separately, so if you just look at the normal spending bill, it will look like a cut.
Like if you upgrade to a new computer, observe that your old computer is gone, and conclude that you don’t have a computer and liberals must have stolen it, and get off my lawn while you’re at it
The immediate narrative of “they cut the budget” is not quite true. The budget was done while the city was negotiating with the main union, so they didn’t have exact numbers for additional wages and benefits, and the normal process is to leave them off entirely until the contract is done. That showed cuts on paper. They then finished the deal and ended up with a 6.5% total increase.
HOWEVER, the broader point is that while the LAPD budget is being augmented to bring on hundreds of new officers and hire civilian support positions, the Fire department’s budget is stagnating, and the budget specifically eliminated 79 civilian support positions and lowered the overtime budget for firefighters. The chief pointed out it’s about the same size as it was 50 years ago. So, she basically took the media moment to get some attention on the need for more resources, and it turned out she was very right.
The overal LAFD budget after the restored funds is around $895M. For comparison, the police budget got a 7.5% increase in city funding, and its ~$2B city budget is augmented by state and federal funds for about another ~$1.2B. I’m sure the fire department gets something, particularly when a massive emergency actually happens, but I couldn’t find any readily available numbers for any ongoing support from state or federal.
And just for “funsies,” when Fox News reported on the FD cuts, they compared not to police, but to the city “spending millions on the homeless,” which while true, also reflected a full 26% cut from $250M to $185M. Never change, Fox News. /s
