I don't personally object to taxation to provide a fire department. (Though I also don't personally think privatization of the FD--which this case, an optional subscription/enrollment based service, is similar to--is a bad idea, either.) Narrowly, I was objecting to the OP's comment "Taxes are good, because they protect idiots like this one from themselves", which implied the purpose of taxation is to protect idiots from themselves. If that is the case, I want my money back, because I'm not an idiot.
More generally, I object to the larger premise as well. The purpose of government is not to protect anybody from themselves; the purpose of government is to protect the people's rights. I am vehemently against the notion that somebody else, somewhere else, who doesn't know me or my situation, can better determine my choices for me than I can for myself. Don't limit my freedom "for my own good". I don't need laws to tell me to buckle up, to wear a helmet, to buy health insurance, to buy fire insurance, not to smoke, etc etc ad nauseum! I can do the smart things on my own, and if I don't and get bitten by the consequences, I'll take responsibility for it!
The real problem, as I see it, is that nobody takes responsibility any more. Anybody with a decent moral compass can look at what they've bungled and say, "Yup, that's my fault," then, "How do I make it right?" or, "I guess I won't do that again." Morality is on the decline, and we've traded it for legality. We'll only admit culpability if it's legally required, after all the machinations and contortions and extensions fail to win a more favorable outcome. We want someone else to take the blame, someone else to pick up the tab. To do that, for every possible situation that might arise, requires an insanely complex set of rules. We call this the "legal system". To help us navigate it, we have more lawyers per capita than any society in history. We have waiting times to get into court that mock the right to a "speedy trial", bordering on unjust. Frivolous lawsuits clog the system, because people throw everything at the wall just to see what will stick. Nearly every law that's passed to limit some unjust action has overreach that will snag inoffensive actions as well. And then there are the laws that are passed because "it's a good idea". If it's so good, you shouldn't need a law to make people do it! That's how freedom is eroded.
William Penn said, "Those who will not be governed by God will be ruled by tyrants." That's exactly what we're seeing. We've traded morality for legality, but legal doesn't make it right. "The system" is the tyrant, and it's of our own making.
