pay more for fire prevention, police, ambulances. after you paid already, pay or we'll burn your house. how did common sense traditional values and conservatism leave firefighters watching a man's house burn down. let's bring in the author of "aftershock: the next economy and america's future" robert reich. welcome back to the program, sir. >> hi, keith. >> what's the argument here? why is it morally better to have a system those who can and do pay -- they get the fire department service and those who do not lose their homes? >> well, at least the conservative argument as i understand it, and it is a little bit hard to understand it carried to this extent, people need to bear the consequences of their own behavior. that creates a better society. obvious obviously people do need to bear the consequences but carried to a degree like we have here where somebody who forgets to pay the $75 fee or somebody who is unfortunate enough to have