INQUISITR.COM / News & Politics

Flint Water Bills — Government Threatens To Take Kids If Parents Don’t Pay

By Antonio J. Newell
Published on: 14:44 PST, Jan 25, 2016

Flint water bills? Why is there still such a thing? Michigan government seems to lack morals to the fullest extent. It’s threatening to take kids away from parents if they don’t continue to pay their water bills.

It seems that Flint — even with poisoned children — is receiving no relief from the tyranny of Michigan’s government policies and negligence. According to NBC News, Flint residents are still required to pay the cost for their contaminated water. The source reports that the bills run in excess of $140 per month. This, of course, is for water that Flint residents can’t drink or use otherwise.

At the moment, there are two class action lawsuits against Flint, Michigan, as reports MLive Media Group. The source reports that Flint water lawsuits are seeking to void all water bills from the present, dating back to April 2014.

Attorney General Bill Schuette said that though Flint water is unusable — and residents are disgruntled about having to pay for its bills — he’s fighting for the government to keep water running, rather than turn it off.

There’s a reason. According to the Michigan Mandated Reporters’ Resource Guide, if a home doesn’t have running water, the state has the authority to come and take Flint residents’ children away. Without running water, the guide deems the home uninhabitable for kids. However, Michigan’s government is run as a business, as mentions Fortune.

So, for Flint water bills, an invoice is an invoice — whether you can use the product or not. The issue is that Flint citizens have the product coming into their homes. And the law in-place protects the business — state — with a strenuous clausal trap. “Continue paying the bills or we will come take your kids.” From the information provided by NBC News, the city is more concerned with avoiding bankruptcy than the livelihood of its residents.

The entire irony of it all is unbelievable. Without running water, the home is deemed unfit for kids. However, the state won’t take the kids if Flint residents pay their water bills and continue to be poisoned by severe contamination?

At this point, several lawyers are on the case. According to MLive Media Group, Attorney Michael L. Pitts says that they plan to get Governor Synder to answer many questions he’s refused to answer. Pitts claims that they will retrieve the emails Synder has refused to release.

Likewise, The Inquisitr previously reported on this crisis. At the time of his State of the State address, Michigan’s governor mentioned that — with a spending bill of $22 million — he planned to “heal” Flint. However, that’s “child’s play” in contrast to the actual requirement needed to bring change and health back to the city. MLive Media Group reported that it would take, at least, 15 years and $60 million to fix the water crisis in Flint.

However, government officials have invoked a protocol which would strong-arm the parents into continue paying bills for contaminated water? Well, to that, a militia has formed, as reported by Think Progress. And they say they’re there to protect the city, not as a race issue but a human one.

Reuters reports that there are similar government lawsuits being placed around the United States for different negligent cases.

Yet, the question still remains: why hasn’t Governor Synder been arrested for knowingly poisoning Flint residents and children? The ex-mayor of Detroit is currently serving a 28-year sentence for misappropriating city funds, says Detroit Free Press. It’s still Michigan and falls under strict, Michigan law. So, where’s the justice for the city of Flint — especially given that this is a heinous crime involving children, at a city-wide level?

What are your thoughts? Should there be any Flint water bills printed and sent until the city’s government fixes the problem it created? How is such a thing logical in officials’ minds? Free Thought Project also reports that Flint residents aren’t allowed to sell their homes, due to its contamination. Therefore, they’re forced to stay, unless they want to pay double mortgages, water bills, other utilities, etc.

A key option might be similar to what happened when the housing market crashed in 2009 — simply walk out and move elsewhere other than Flint, or Michigan. It’s not that the government would win. The people of Flint would win because they’d still be alive, when the government seemingly didn’t care one way or the other. The water bill issues will probably get resolved since agencies outside of Michigan are getting involved. Governor Synder will possibly be held to the full-extent of the law for his negligent crimes against Flint.

Seriously, water is an essential resource. To poison or allow poisonous contamination of an entire city for years is not something that could go unnoticed. Then, to try to send audacious water bills to the victims, it places the icing on the contaminated cake. This scandal will be remembered for years to come. Feel free to share your feelings in the comments.

[Photo by Paul Sancya/AP Images]

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