March 26, 2010
Bastards Department
Betrayed By Our Local Governments
One of the most disgusting aspects of the current economic unpleasantness is the way our local governments have betrayed us. Instead of tightening the belts like the rest of us, they've been trying to find new ways to squeeze money out of us to meet their bloated payrolls.
Here in Illinois, the cost of license plate stickers has gone up $21. No reason for it, they just need to squeeze us a little more.
And the city of Chicago is installing hundreds of new traffic cameras. They even have a plan to use them to find uninsured motorists so they can collect millions of dollars in fines. They're not even pretending it's about safety any more.
Daisy Nguyen has more in an AP wire story:
LOS ANGELES -- Shomari Jennings was willing to pay the $70 ticket he received for driving without a seatbelt, but not the slew of tacked-on fees and penalties that ballooned the cost more than tenfold.
Every $10 of his base fine triggered a $26 "penalty assessment" for courthouse construction, a DNA identification program, emergency medical services and other programs. Other fees ranged from $1 to $35.
"It's the new tax," Jennings, 30, complained while waiting in traffic court to contest a staggering bill compounded by a $500 fine for missing a court date.
It's not just Chicago and L.A. either:
In Iowa, lawmakers grappling with shortfalls in the state's public safety budget are exploring ways to increase fines for traffic violations. There's a proposal in Maryland to add a $7.50 charge to traffic fines to help pay for law enforcement and fire protection equipment.
I've got an idea, how about if Iowa pays for law enforcement and fire protection out of their general revenue like they're supposed to! Lawmakers always like to tie new taxes to important things -- education is another big one -- to make it harder for people to argue against the taxes, as if there weren't tons of other less-critical services they could cut. (Or, you know, stop wasting money on victimless crimes. I'm just sayin'.) I mean, what the fuck are Iowans paying their taxes for if not police and fire?
Naturally, California is the most fucked up:
Last year, lawmakers agreed to a budget deal that nearly doubled the vehicle license fee that owners pay when they register their cars every year. The fee rose from .65 percent of a vehicle's value to 1.15 percent. A significant portion of the revenue goes to the state's general fund, and the rest to local crime prevention programs.
This year, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger suggested retrofitting 500 city and county traffic cameras to cite not only drivers who blow through red lights but speeders, too. The state, facing a $20 billion deficit, would collect 85 percent of the money, using the projected $338 million to help pay for courts and court security.
This, on the other hand, has a certain poetry to it:
State Sen. Jenny Oropeza, however, has introduced legislation prohibiting local governments from collecting and keeping traffic fines.
[Los Angeles city councilman Dennis] Zine argues that the city pays for the cameras as well as training and equipping police.
"The state collects a majority of the fine for doing nothing when we're burdened with all the responsibilities," he said.
Welcome to the party, pal. That's exactly how a lot of us feel about our income taxes.
The people who run our city and state governments have betrayed us when we needed help the most. Come election time, lets make them pay.
(Hat tip: Radley Balko.)
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