Here I Stand

Here I Stand

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Revenue producing tickets

So those of you who live in California, or any other state that is going broke, for that matter, know that a pretty major source of income for local communities seems to be parking tickets. I have no issues obeying laws and ordinances - even ones that I feel are stupid and serve no purpose, but I do take issue at being lied to about stated purposes.

My apartment in Newport Beach has no dedicated parking, so we park on the street. As with nearly every public street in So-Cal, there is a designated time once a week where there is no parking due to street sweeping - violating this policy results in a $50+ parking ticket... theoretically in order to PAY for the street sweeping. This wouldn't be that big of a deal if they actually SWEPT the streets! I have never actually seen a street sweeping vehicle go by, nor have I seen any indication that the streets are regularly maintained. This Monday - the day after New Years - when the streets were strewn with trash and debris, and the day there is no parking on the north side of my street, there were a multitude of tickets on careless driver's windshields, yet nothing had been cleaned - not even in open parts of the street where there is no parking - ever.

Yes, the state is broke. It has no money, and they need to create revenue, but they are going about it in entirely subversive ways. Increasing taxes on the top percentages (there was recently a push to tax more on those who make more than $1 million a year) just results in many of these top earners finding tax shelters, pushing their money out of state, or actually moving to places like Florida or Texas where there is no state income tax. These individuals pay the vast majority of existing tax revenues, and it makes sense to keep them in state, paying their taxes, rather than punishing them for success and forcing them out - taking their lucritive businesses and employment with them. Business taxes are also an issue - because of many of the laws required of small businesses in this state - businesses that hire workers and provide incomes for many in the state- many are being forced into failure, or are simply leaving for more agreeable environments. This results in even less tax revenue where it was a vain attempt at gaining more. I have discussed this in pervious posts, and though I wish to, will not go further into detail on THIS particular topic.
These traffic citations are of the same vein. Punishing citizens for arbitrary violations that are neither saftey nor civic minded is simply unethical. Making up laws as they go, and fishing for offenses in otherwise law abiding and right minded people simply perpetuates an us vs. them mentality that does no one any good. The real answer is to trim government spending, and put a limit on social welfare programs that just keep a huge portion of society in a dependent state. California is the most populated state in the US - but it has almost 1/3 of all welfare recipients. We have been touted as having the 6th largest economy in the world, yet we are completely broke. Does that make sense to anyone? Seems to me that this state, as a whole, is living well beyond it's considerable means. It is far too easy here to do absolutely nothing, and get paid for it, while those who work hard and try to succeed are hamstrung by regulation and control.