There's basic necessities of government, of course local governments should have police, fire, rescue, ambulence, etc.
Police, without a doubt.
Why must the government be involved in the businesses of putting out fires, rescuing people and ferrying people to hospitals. I see no reason why the government should be allowed to screw up and overprice these very important services, most likely knocking valid private efforts out of business.
I'm all for school vouchers, another public good which can be imporved with private competition,
Why a half-measure? Why do you trust the government with the job of educating our youth? Are you happy with the job they're doing these days? Do you enjoy paying many more times per pupil than the private sector requires?
Someone who doesn't have the money for fire fighters putting out their house ablaze is certainly not something anyone would ever want to see.
"Someone who doesn't have the money to pay their mortgage is not something anyone would ever want to see."
That's the kind of thinking that got us where we are today; where politicians are allowing the Fed to bailout the mortgage and securities industries on our backs. That's the kind of thinking that has us headed towards nationalized healthcare, because you wouldn't want to see anyone without health care, right?
The fact is that when you use the government to solve all your problems, you don't - and you just make more.
Speaking "practically", why should firefighting work any differently than any other similar business? You call them, they come, they send you a bill. You pay when you can, hopefully ASAP but they charge you interest if it's late. Only if you're a serial arsonist _and_ a deadbeat are they going to deny you their services. And if that's the case, why should _anyone_ be forced to pay for it?
And if they're row homes, and this deadbeat is my neighbor, the firemen are going to come out anyway because, being row homes, they KNOW someone will pay to put out the fire. If he's my neighbor I would pay for it in a second so that the fire wouldn't reach my home. The difference in this situation is that it's voluntary - no one forced me to pay for it.
but there is nothing wrong with providing these basic services that allow people to survive and have an emergency contact.
There most certainly is something wrong. They require that government pay for them. This requires that government use force to extort said payment from citizens. The initiation of force is morally wrong and practically impractical. And it's also in violation of the pledge we made when we joined the LP (assuming you are a member).
