No Fireworks for Cash-Strapped Cities

Here’s a Catch-22 for the tea party movement: Cities across the country are going without Independence Day celebrations this year due to budget cuts. We know how our tax-hating friends love to wave flags and celebrate the late 1700s, but somebody has to pay for all those explosives, and, more often than not, it’s us.  —PZS

The Huffington Post:

Smaller cities and towns especially lack the resources for fireworks shows. The city of Lehigh Acres, Florida has cancelled its show, as have several towns in Coachella Valley, California. In these cases, like many others, the money just wasn’t there, or needed to be used for more urgent needs, like food and financial outreach programs.

And it’s not just small towns, either. Even bigger cities like Chicago and Cincinnati can’t afford fireworks displays, which typically run from $7,500 for smaller local shows to up to millions of dollars for huge multi-day events.

Read more

Illustration from a photo by Bayasaa (CC-BY)