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And please understand the guy who didn't pay the $75 was an idiot of almost impossible proportions. I have no sympathy for that guy in the least.

Yes, you do.

You think the fire should have been put out.

You think it's a matter of being "nice."

That attitude is what gave us the helpless welfare class, and a Social Security "Trust Fund" filled with worthless IOUs.

You know that big pension you think you have coming?

Ain't gonna happen, because the federal government decided it was better to be "nice" than have a solvent currency.

And please understand the guy who didn't pay the $75 was an idiot of almost impossible proportions. I have no sympathy for that guy in the least.
Yes, you do.

You think the fire should have been put out.

No now you are putting words into my mouth to support your argument. The firemen were under no obligation to put out the fire. And they didn't. But often business do more than they are required to do for public relations purposes. But each business needs to evaluate if the PR is worth it. In the case of the firemen the PR wasn't worth $75. So be it.

Of course that decision comes with some bad PR. And there will be a price paid in the good will of the community for that. They act like a business, they should fully expect to be treated like any other business. NO more, no less.

For example I pay for an extended drive train warranty on my car. If the car breaks I expect the dealer to fix it. If I don't pay and it breaks, I'm out of luck. But it is strictly a financial arrangement. I don't expect the car dealer to go beyond the terms of the agreement, and car dealer expects nothing more than my pre negotiated payment me. If a car falls of the jack and squishes the guy it quite literally isn't my problem. In fact I would expect another car dealer to honor the warranty.

That same financial only arrangement does not exist, or at least previously has not existed, with firefighters. How many times after 9/11 were we asked to open our wallets for the families of the fire fighters killed that day? Like many other I sent in my check. And how many millions of dollars poured into New York City afterwords? That is the value of a community's good will.

The guy who didn't pay the $75 was an idiot. The firefighters decided to make an example of him for all the other people who didn't pay. As I have repeatedly stated they had every right to do it. It was a business decision, possibly a very good business decision. But they need to accept the consequences of that decision as much as the homeowner (foundation owner now) has to accept the consequences of his decision. He thought he was saving $75 gambling that he would never need the firefighters. He was wrong, he paid the price. The firefighters will certainly have a much easier time getting their $75 now. In exchange for easier collections they are, gambling that they will not need the good will of the community in the future. Whether or not it is a good deal will depend on what happens next.