Zeev's Turnips Talk Politics (ZTTP)

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"Fire departments are after all, one of those failed experiments in socialism you so deride."

Fire protection is generally a government or non-profit delivered service due to practicality. Fire departments need firehouses, coordination with other services such as 9/11 operators, police, emergency medical treatment, etc., privatization is not yet feasible. Additionally, there is the problem of fires in buildings without contracted coverage, which for public safety, do need to be covered.

America is what it is today, precisely, because we have never been socialist (except for the early colonists in Jamestown, who almost starved to death until they gave up the communal experiment). I define socialism as a system of public ownership of producing assets, as opposed to private ownership. The American economic system is overwhelmingly a capitalistic one, with private ownership of most productive assets. There are some publicly owned endeavors, such as the Los Angeles Water Department or The Tennessee Valley Authority. But the overwhelming bulk of America's economy has always been privately owned. I can't think of a much more Quixotic enterprise than trying to socialize the American economy. Americans make mistakes like everyone else, but we are not going to make that big of a mistake, in my opinion.