Chapter 4 Media Article

“Richmond council pushes for federal flood-protection aid”, The Province Feb. 13, 2007.

The article states the concerns of the low-lying city of Richmond of a potential impending flooding by the bordering Fraser River. The concern is that billions of dollars worth of damage may present itself come spring, as the river overflows due to factors such as high levels of snow. The Council has passed a motion and proposes for more federal funding and “commitment” to improve the amount of “flood protection” to prevent and/or minimize the damage predicted. According to the article, the city council of Richmond refuses to support the plans of Vancouver, the Fraser and North Fraser to merge together port operations if their condition of increased funding is not agreed to. The disaster of Hurricane Katrina is one of the arguments used to support their reasoning as it is an example of poor dike protection. But the bottom line is the there is and has long been a lack of funding.

Relationship to Ch. 4 – Wagner’s law of increasing state activity, Peacock-Wiseman theory, benefits-received approach, ability-to-pay approach

In order to increase funding for flood-protection aid, either funding from other areas will have to be transferred to it or taxes will have to be increased. But since people are not willing to give up the level of services they currently enjoy, that leaves the government with the decision to raise taxes. Since the city of Richmond has a large infrastructure with many services, the government has an obligation step in and get involved to protect the city from the predicted damage of a flood. But to increase funding, who should the government impose taxes on? If the government follows a benefits received approach, the level of taxes imposed on citizens of Richmond will be too much of a strain. Yet, there may be unwillingness from the rest of the population if they are to be taxed on something that does not involve them directly. On the other hand, I think the Peacock-Wiseman theory comes in to play as the people will not mind increases in taxation when it comes to problems of a sort of natural disaster such as this one. But, in the end, the general taxation level will be raised and tends to stay at that level because people become complacent with the taxes. And this leads to a question of equality as some people may not have the ability to pay additional taxes. Furthermore, the ability-to-pay approach of taxation would not work as it also questions equality if not everyone needs to contribute to something they will end up benefiting from. Wagner’s law of increasing state activity presents another problem, the fact that the government already spends more than the good and services that are produced. But, in my opinion, the government has a duty to support the infrastructure of Richmond because if the city does actually become flooded, it will negatively impact a vast group of people.

Personal Reflection

The potential flooding of the city of Richmond is a huge problem because it can have disastrous effects depending on the intensity of the flood. If the city were flooded, numerous jobs could be lost which would end up harming and slowing down economic activity. Homes would be ruined, schools would be closed, and so many other important aspects would be negatively impacted. Those are some of the reasons why I think that Richmond should receive more funding in order to limit the damage that a flood would bring. It’s better to be safe than to be sorry afterwards.