Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?
This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.
Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
Notes -
Today the local volunteer fire department had this on their sign:
Which sort of begs the question: how in the world do volunteer fire departments exist, especially when there are non-volunteer departments in the same area? Don't they get tired of showing up to calls where someone had a heart attack and so in addition to an ambulance the fire department has to show up too for whatever reason? And how do they even find the time? They all have to work full time, and firefighters presumable skew young and without passive income.
I have a friend that volunteers as a firefighter. One of the disappointing stories he told me was that they were recently told they needed to comply with newly invented needless bureaucratic safetyist paperwork that the regular firefighters have to deal with. Except those guys are paid for it. He said it was really taking the shine off their volunteer work.
I don't blame him for reconsidering. People volunteer because they enjoy what they are doing. Knowing bureaucrats in the public service that have mandated this extra paperwork, they would not know or care about the downstream impacts on manpower that their decision will make.
At least until there's a volunteer manpower shortage and they either pay someone to comply with the onerous amount of boring administration or they wind the requirements back.
So frustrating. High trust, community focused volunteering that contributes to social cohesion and the govt is taking it for granted. Mindless.
The bureaucrats and politicians won't be sad about that either. People that aren't on the payroll don't have the same levers to pull and thus lack the same sort of patron/client relationships that political types thrive on. Oh, sure, there might be budgetary problems, but that usually just resolves as a referendum on property taxes that everyone dutifully agrees need to be raised.
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link