Didn't build that take 2

The Republican convention is all about the phrase didn't build that.  Those hardscrabble immigrant entrepreneurs building their business by themselves.  They didn't rely on a government to establish a civil society that allowed a business to succeed they obviously did it themselves.  They banded together a created police forces to keep the peace and provide security for their business.  They created the fire departments, they built the roads, they built the railways, all without a government.  And how was this fantasy paid for, by the businesses of course.  That is the history that the Republicans are talking about, to bad it is all not true.  No business owners ask government for fire and police protection (they always have), they ask for city services such as water and sewer, they ask that roads be built, they ask that flood control structures be built, they ask for government to take land so that railroads can be built, they ask for locks to be put on rivers for barge traffic, ....  And who ends up paying for this the US taxpayer.

Tennessee House Fire

We are starting to see a return to the nation's roots where you contract with a company to put out your house fire.  In this case it was a pubic fire department whose jurisdiction was the village not the county but they would cover you for $75.  Short story guy's house catches on fire the fire department watches it burn to the ground and intervenes when the neighbor's land catches fire (in the village).  This is how it was in the early days even the outcome (the neighbor's land catching fire).  There were some spectacular failures of this system like the Chicago fire which pretty much led to the formation of publicly supported firefighting across the nation.  I guess what is old is new again.  I wonder how long the experiment will last this time?

On a side note, I will speculate that insurance won't cover the loss because the home owner didn't do anything (contracting with the fire department) to prevent a total loss of the home.