harryagain wrote:
"HeyBub" wrote in message
m...
Gordon Shumway wrote:

One point I should have made, but didn't, was that those government
jobs, in virtually every case, could be done with less cost, faster
completion time and more accurately by the private sector.


Well... well... What about firefighters, eh? What about them! As it
turns out 85% of firefighters are volunteers. Next.

Okay, then. How about police? Interesting. In my town there are
probably five times the number of private security guards as there
are police. The military? Probably most wars in history were fought by
some
concoction of mercenaries. If we have a war, we could probably hire
an army.
And where do these "volunteers" get their money from?
Come to that,where did you get your information from/
I have noticed your propensity in the past for producing a load of
**** and claiming it to be true.

Where do they get their money? I don't know. Perhaps the annual Volunteer
Firefighter's Spagetti Dinner?

I know when I lived in a bedroom community, the VFD collected $10/month from
each resident's water bill (voluntary). When the VFD put out a house fire,
they sent a bill to the insurance company involved. Further, the city of
Houston sold surplus equipment to the surrounding VFDs at bargain rates. My
VFD, serving about 1,000 homes, had five pumper trucks and two ambulances
based in two fires stations. If a job came along that was too big for the
standard equipment, the VFD could call on the assistance of the HUGE fire
department in Houston (mutual assistance agreements).

I suppose each VFD has its own method of obtaining physical equipment. As
for the individuals, I'm pretty sure they pay for personal equipment out of
their own pockets (it's tax deductible).

As for percentages, not just the United States:
"Volunteer fire departments are maintaining the majority of Germany's civil
protection alongside other volunteer organizations..."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volunteer_fire_department

And, indeed, I misspoke regarding the U.S.:

"1,148,100 firefighters protected the United States in 2009. 335,950 (29%)
were career firefighters and 812,150 (71%) were volunteer firefighters..."
http://www.nfpa.org/categoryList.asp...ookie%5Ftest=1

As for me "producing a load of **** and claiming it to be true," I wish
you'd point out statements you feel are problematic. Then we can have a
"teaching moment" wherein you come to realize the things you hold to be holy
just aren't so at all. You see, ignorance can be fixed; it's knowing
something that isn't true at all that's the problem.