Opus 2011-358, Tax Dollars at Work: How Many 911's to Change a Light Bulb?

Recently I was driving home from work and had an unusually long wait to get through an intersection.  When I got to the front of the line I could see what the hold up was.  Over at the side of the road a man sat on a bus stop bench.  Appearances are not everything but he had the fashion style of a homeless person.  Evidently he had been having some kind of problem.  The days of the Good Samaritan taking you to an inn are over.  Instead we had an ambulance, a team of paramedics with their truck, a fire truck, plus several police cars.  Because of the circus, a policeman was directing traffic.  His main purpose seemed to be to hold up the lane I was stuck in.  All of this for one man sitting on a bench.

He wasn’t laying on the ground.  He wasn’t writhing in agony.  He was sitting calmly answering their questions.  There did not seem to be any genuine crisis.

It is good that we live in a country that has safety nets.  The problem is that we have nets of gold.  One policeman with first aid training could have dealt with the problem.  The paramedics by themselves would have been overkill.  I realize you don’t know that when 911 is dialed but I think the fire truck was a bit much. 

You have all seen this going on around you.  It may make you feel secure.  It makes me feel sick enough that I almost want to dial 911.  Understand that nothing is free.  Each one of those highly paid professionals and those decked out vehicles must be paid for and you are doing the paying.  I have seen this at nursing homes.  All these vehicles for someone who is having a hard time getting up after a fall. 

We need some sanity.  We can take care of people without the overkill.  Keep the safety net but get rid of the gold grommets. 

homo unius libri