Well.... ummmm... We pay for their water.


Dave wrote:
Why?

So that people can live there.
If you took away the Federally funded water projects, Nevada
& Arizona and much of Colorado & California would be almost
uninhabitable.



And........ We pay for their grazing land.


Dave wrote:
Why?


So that politically well-connected ranchers can make a profit.


And....... We pay for fighting their wildfires.


Why?


So that people's houses don't get burned down, or so that
publicly owned land isn't totally devastated (partial
devastation optional).



And....... We pay for their mudslide disasters.

Why?


For the same reason we all help pay for Mississippi River
flood reconstruction, for hurricane victims assistance, for
dredging channels into harbors, for police & courts to catch
& punish criminals, for a space program, for scientific
research, and for the world's most powerful military.

It's called "the common good." The concept may have expanded
beyond reasonable boundaries, but if you deny the basic
concept, try going out in the woods and living totally on
your own. To be fair, you should start naked & empty handed,
but we don't want to be mean. You can have a pair of shorts
& a pocket knife.



It's kinda one of the functions of government to spread things around,
both the good and the bad.


That is a thoroughly debatable proposition, it seems to me.

Tell us that *after* you come back from a year or two in the
woods, Dave.

Regards
Doug King