Without knowing anything more about the context here than what's in the article, this seems like an interesting case to illustrate a short-coming with libertarianism. Assuming the gentleman whose home burned down was informed of, and understood, the consequences of his choice (it reads like he didn't understand and it's not clear how much information about the policy he was provided,) then the mayor is absolutely right in his position, you gotta pay to play. This also assumes he informed the firefighters there were no people trapped inside before they refused to assist.
OBION COUNTY, Tenn. - Imagine your home catches fire but the local fire department won't respond, then watches it burn. That's exactly what happened to a local family tonight.
A local neighborhood is furious after firefighters watched as an Obion County, Tennessee, home burned to the ground.
The homeowner, Gene Cranick, said he offered to pay whatever it would take for firefighters to put out the flames, but was told it was too late. They wouldn't do anything to stop his house from burning.
Each year, Obion County residents must pay $75 if they want fire protection from the city of South Fulton. But the Cranicks did not pay.
The mayor said if homeowners don't pay, they're out of luck.
The homeowner (our theoretically informed and consenting individual) could weigh the likelihood his house might ever catch on fire and decide not to pay the fee and take his chances; but, you and I both know that when the fire starts, it's human nature to expect help. Likewise, people decide not to get health insurance when they're young and healthy because they don't think they need it, so why pay for it? The answer, of course, is because nobody gets sick and and says, "those are the breaks, Doc, just let me die." Our theoretical homeowner also could've cheated the system by not paying, but forcing the firefighters to fight the fire enough to rescue a child left inside, one that he couldn't save himself on his way out due to a wall of flames, so clearly the expectation is that somebody else should pay for the services that would be called upon in the event the libertarian ever needs them. TANSTAAFL goes out the window.
Police and fire departments, schools, national defense, social security: these things are all too important to be left to the mercy of the marketplace.
It's a pretty terrible idea to allow people to opt out of fire department service. Instead of offering the option, it makes more sense to tell those who seek it they should consider living somewhere less civilized if they don't want to be a part of society. I hear you can live cheap in Mexico. Just don't expect the government there to offer you much in the way of basic protections.
via OliverWillis.com
