Now I don't know the reason why there was not an ambulance available but this caught my attention earlier today.
D.C. is looking into why no ambulances were available after a District police officer was struck in a hit and run incident earlier this week.
The Metropolitan police officer was seriously injured when stopped on his motorcycle near 46th and A Street NE in the early evening, when he was struck by a Lexus, according to reports. The officer had to wait at least 20 minutes for an ambulance to come from Prince George's County, because none were available in Washington.
The incident Tuesday night is stirring debate over staffing levels and response times.
http://wamu.org/...
It seems to me that if the Republican "smaller government" folks have their way these stories will be more and more common as local jurisdictions find that they do not have the resources to adequately fund necessary services like police and fire.
In Maryland, there is a bill to forbid local jurisdictions from enacting these types of cuts. Yet, The Washington Post calls this bill "bizarre" in an editorial. I find this idea anything but bizarre.
As the Republican Party makes a push to "cut government" essential services are at risk. I think that it is prudent for the Maryland legislature to protect its citizens from these types of cuts. Yet, in its editorial, The Washington Post states that Maryland is considering a
bizarre piece of legislation in Annapolis that would forbid county governments from cutting anything from large categories of their budget, on pain of losing state aid . . .
The effect of the bill would be to force local governments to maintain spending levels on jails, libraries, roads, police, sheriffs and fire departments. The measure would allow no exceptions, even as priorities shift, populations shrink or emergencies arise. To comply with the legislation in such circumstances, local officials would have no choice but to raise taxes, since cutting spending would be off the table.
(emphasis mine)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/...
My response to the The Washington Post is this is exactly what we need.
We should not allow cuts to essential services like police and fire departments. And if these services cannot be adequately maintained, taxes should be raised.