MISSOURI CITY, Texas — The Houston suburb of Missouri City is going to charge drivers extra to respond to wrecks. It’s known as a “crash tax.” It’s a fee to cover the cost of first responders who come to help you out, and that fee could add up to a couple thousand bucks. Starting March 1, Missouri City’s Fire Department will charge a fee for responding to traffic accidents…. Drivers involved will be charged even if they don’t call for help…. The charges range from $500 all the way up to $2,000. The amount depends on the severity of the accident. Those fees target drivers that are at fault, which is little consolation to those skeptical about how it’s going to work.
If you want to understand the world the something-for-nothing Tea Party is in the process of creating, you need look no further than Missouri City, TX. Should you be unfortunate enough to be involved in an automobile accident in this suburb of Houston, you can count on being charged a “crash tax” to cover the cost of first responders…whether or not they’re called or even necessary.
The city’s fire chief defends the crash tax as a way to help fill in the holes in Missouri City’s budget…and anyway, there’s no need for individual drivers to be worried. The bill will be sent directly to insurance companies, so no problem…right? Well, what do you think insurance companies are going to do with that? Even if they decide to pay the tax on behalf of their insured, those additional costs will be passed along to their customers. In the end, they pay.
Citizens of Missouri City and the state of Texas are already being taxed in order for municipalities to provide first responder service. Beyond that, we live in a world where far too many reject the idea of paying taxes for anything…yet who’s the first to demand immediate service when they’re in need? This is what happens when you allow a cabal of anti-government zealots to define the debate on the role and utility of government. You get a city forced to get “creative” in its search for the revenues required to maintain a basic level of service to their constituents.
Greetings from Tea Party Amerika; why should we be paying taxes, anyway?
You’re on your own, Kimosabe. The Nanny State isn’t here to help you; it’s here to help those lazy, godless, self-entitled Libruls.
