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I think there is a difference between "access to basic utilities" and the power is down because a power station caught on fire for example. Access to basic uti

I think there is a difference between "access to basic utilities" and the power is down because a power station caught on fire for example. Access to basic utilities is provided, but uptime is not 100% and never will be. And nobody can expect them to be, if you have a life threatening issue which requires 24/7 power, you should have a backup like a generator that automatically kicks on for your life providing machine, and maybe even a third backup. Same as if you host something that needs 3 9s of uptime, you have a primary host and a backup host or region or what ever.

pests 3y ago
Kinda? Fire service is not provided everywhere. Some cities you have to hire your own / purchase a plan. Granted a lot of cities just factor it into taxes but it's not a mandate to provide.
- blkhawk 3y ago
  I kinda feel obligated to point out that this is another orphan crusher machine thing. In most countries fire service is just provided everywhere.
  - Kon-Peki 3y ago
    I suspect that the list of countries in which 100% of the territory, with no exceptions, will have a fire brigade arrive in time to do anything productive is a lot smaller than you think it is.
  - lttlrck 3y ago
    The "most" of the US fire service is just provided everywhere. But the US is also a very big place with big empty spaces filled with very small communities. Along with strong devolution in governance, there are "some" very remote communities where the population cannot support a permanent local fire service and relies on locally organized volunteers. They can choose to fund that in a variety of ways, by taxes/subs combination. And of course you may live so remotely that even that is not realistic. I very much doubt the US is unique on this point.
  - MichaelZuo 3y ago
    > In most countries fire service is just provided everywhere. Can you link a source? Most countries that I'm aware of with large wilderness areas don't provide any meaningful fire fighting service past the first dozen or two miles.
  - s1artibartfast 3y ago
    Can you sue them if they try but fail to save your house?
nkrisc 3y ago
> if you have a life threatening issue which requires 24/7 power, you should have a backup like a generator that automatically kicks on for your life providing machine, and maybe even a third backup. Most Americans could never afford that.
- phil21 3y ago
  I completely disagree with this notion. Many cannot afford it, most can easily. If you are driving a relatively modern car and have no small $350 gas generator at home for emergencies I absolutely question your priorities in life. Nearly everyone in the nation could come up with $500 over a few years. They simply choose to spend it elsewhere. Home owners have utterly zero excuses. It should be the first thing you buy after your home.
  - nkrisc 3y ago
    A full third of Americans are renters, and that’s to say nothing of those who live paycheck to paycheck even though they are (mortgaged) homeowners. > Nearly everyone in the nation could come up with $500 over a few years. They simply choose to spend it elsewhere. How out of touch this is depends on what exactly you mean by “nearly everyone.”
    - s1artibartfast 3y ago
      Somewhere around 95% of people, I expect.
  - whaleofatw2022 3y ago
    The problem until recently was that gas generators are, in many places, banned. Apartments are a no go, many condos, and even some house HOAs do not allow them. Now, lithium backup packs are a thing. However, for any extended needs you will probably also want solar panels or some other way to recharge, and you may need a second battery so that you can recharge one while using the other (the units I purchased do not allow discharge while charging)
sidewndr46 3y ago
That doesn't work when you need dialysis. You can't simply walk into a shuttered clinic with a generator and demand they open up for business
lyu07282 3y ago
> Access to basic utilities is provided, but uptime is not 100% and never will be. The issue in Texas isn't that power was out for a few hours, the issue is it was out for several days. This should be unacceptable and it is absolutely reasonable to expect a rich, developed nation to guarantee this does not happen. Especially in freak weather events that are going to increase in frequency in the future due to climate change. Even within a neoliberal country it's entirely within the realms of the government to force corporations that maintain infrastructure to comply with basic service guarantees or at least threaten to nationalize the business, you can privatize it later again. This is critical infrastructure. I know people dying doesn't matter to libs, but this cost other corporations in Texas a lot of money too. How can you have a free market where the basic infrastructure is this unreliable.
- dubcanada 3y ago
  I mean this is certainly because it's Texas, I get power outages for multiple days every year. As does most countries where it snows. Some years I get power outages for multiple days every month. I believe the issue is because Texas thinks it does not snow so they avoid any emergency procedures for snow. Well it does now, so they should prepare for that, as unlikely as it is.

pests 3y ago

Kinda? Fire service is not provided everywhere. Some cities you have to hire your own / purchase a plan. Granted a lot of cities just factor it into taxes but it's not a mandate to provide.

blkhawk 3y ago
I kinda feel obligated to point out that this is another orphan crusher machine thing. In most countries fire service is just provided everywhere.
- Kon-Peki 3y ago
  I suspect that the list of countries in which 100% of the territory, with no exceptions, will have a fire brigade arrive in time to do anything productive is a lot smaller than you think it is.
- lttlrck 3y ago
  The "most" of the US fire service is just provided everywhere. But the US is also a very big place with big empty spaces filled with very small communities. Along with strong devolution in governance, there are "some" very remote communities where the population cannot support a permanent local fire service and relies on locally organized volunteers. They can choose to fund that in a variety of ways, by taxes/subs combination. And of course you may live so remotely that even that is not realistic. I very much doubt the US is unique on this point.
- MichaelZuo 3y ago
  > In most countries fire service is just provided everywhere. Can you link a source? Most countries that I'm aware of with large wilderness areas don't provide any meaningful fire fighting service past the first dozen or two miles.
- s1artibartfast 3y ago
  Can you sue them if they try but fail to save your house?

nkrisc 3y ago

> if you have a life threatening issue which requires 24/7 power, you should have a backup like a generator that automatically kicks on for your life providing machine, and maybe even a third backup. Most Americans could never afford that.

phil21 3y ago
I completely disagree with this notion. Many cannot afford it, most can easily. If you are driving a relatively modern car and have no small $350 gas generator at home for emergencies I absolutely question your priorities in life. Nearly everyone in the nation could come up with $500 over a few years. They simply choose to spend it elsewhere. Home owners have utterly zero excuses. It should be the first thing you buy after your home.
- nkrisc 3y ago
  A full third of Americans are renters, and that’s to say nothing of those who live paycheck to paycheck even though they are (mortgaged) homeowners. > Nearly everyone in the nation could come up with $500 over a few years. They simply choose to spend it elsewhere. How out of touch this is depends on what exactly you mean by “nearly everyone.”
  - s1artibartfast 3y ago
    Somewhere around 95% of people, I expect.
- whaleofatw2022 3y ago
  The problem until recently was that gas generators are, in many places, banned. Apartments are a no go, many condos, and even some house HOAs do not allow them. Now, lithium backup packs are a thing. However, for any extended needs you will probably also want solar panels or some other way to recharge, and you may need a second battery so that you can recharge one while using the other (the units I purchased do not allow discharge while charging)

sidewndr46 3y ago

That doesn't work when you need dialysis. You can't simply walk into a shuttered clinic with a generator and demand they open up for business

lyu07282 3y ago

> Access to basic utilities is provided, but uptime is not 100% and never will be. The issue in Texas isn't that power was out for a few hours, the issue is it was out for several days. This should be unacceptable and it is absolutely reasonable to expect a rich, developed nation to guarantee this does not happen. Especially in freak weather events that are going to increase in frequency in the future due to climate change. Even within a neoliberal country it's entirely within the realms of the government to force corporations that maintain infrastructure to comply with basic service guarantees or at least threaten to nationalize the business, you can privatize it later again. This is critical infrastructure. I know people dying doesn't matter to libs, but this cost other corporations in Texas a lot of money too. How can you have a free market where the basic infrastructure is this unreliable.

dubcanada 3y ago
I mean this is certainly because it's Texas, I get power outages for multiple days every year. As does most countries where it snows. Some years I get power outages for multiple days every month. I believe the issue is because Texas thinks it does not snow so they avoid any emergency procedures for snow. Well it does now, so they should prepare for that, as unlikely as it is.