Discussion
The exception that proves the rule.
This story is so exceedingly rare that it makes the news on a different continent.
Being a rule doesn't make it morally superior. For thousands of years we had more wars than periods of peaceful cohabitation. If we recall peaceful cohabitation periods in history, we don't call it "the exception that proves the rule", we call it "the goal we must strive for".
Nothing against public servant firefighters, I just pointed out that it is possible to have volunteer firefighters. Which makes more sense, since locals take the responsibility to care and protect their own community.
So yeah, it's a fallacy to associate firefighters with taxes.
I take your point here about just because it's what people do now and it works well doesn't mean it's the best option or one that we should strive for.
Do you understand the following quote from the article?
"Without a state-funded fire service, Chile relies on some 50,000 men and women like Pena, who are financed by foreign, private and state donations."
It starts out with not being funded by the state and then ends with "state donations". So does the state fund the firefighters or not?
Nevermind, I found it. For federal and state goverents fund the majority of the fire service.
"55% of funding for the fire service comes from central government, while the rest comes from local government, donations and fundraising activities like bingo and raffles."
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-27186801
So much for taxes not paying for fire service. Haha
Naturally, from the seeds of modern civilizations in Sumer 6.000 years ago till nowdays nation-states, power centralization is the norm.
For the first time in 6.000 years we have truly decentralized money (#Bitcoin), a decentralized information network (World Wide Web) and social media (#Nostr).
If we make an analogy with natural selection, the environmental boundary conditions favored strong centralized power structures. With decentralized technology this starts to change. That's why governments are freaking out with the level of freesom the internet and bitcoin give to its citizens.
If even with this power structure we still have volunteer firefighters depending on 55% central government, I can only imagine what kind of power and organization structures we will have with decentralized technologies paving the way.
So, again, the direct correlation of firefighter and taxes is a fallacy equivalent to a XIX century person saying "we only have economical development because of institutionalized slavery".