If your city was piping poison into your house, should you pay for it? The residents of Flint have been living with poisoned water for two years now and refusing to pay their water bills. It makes sense; why pay for the privilege of being poisoned? If anything, the city and state should be paying you. But the the state of Michigan thinks differently: Pay up or move out.
While residents had been anticipating the shutoff notices, the tax lien letters showed up without any warning. Now, just over 8,000 residents who have received those notices have until February 28, 2018 to pay their bills in full to forestall the foreclosure process.
This could be a tough hurdle for many residents to clear. More than 40 percent of Flint’s population lives below the poverty line.
This has all the makings of a really bad melodrama; Gov. Snyder doesn’t have a mustache to twirl.
You would think the federal government would at least make an effort to help these people out, but with the current administration, I wouldn’t be surprised if they put the state up to this.
Flint isn’t alone, apparently. Long Island is drinking poison, too. Along with the right to health care shouldn’t we expect the Feds to fund safe drinking water? After all, water knows no state boundaries. It should come under the purview of national responsibility and we should all kick in by way of taxation. Oh, right . . . Republicans don’t believe in that either. “Get a job and buy your own drinking water, dude.”
I thought about this yesterday, paying for bad water. I have fired 4 doctors in the last in the last 4 yrs. for not being on time. If I am paying these guys a bunch of money stop telling me that I have an appointment and make me sit for an hour and a half while they get their act together. If I am paying you act like, be on time and act like you know why I am there. Twice I had to stand up as there was no place to sit unless I sat on the floor!