The real Bailout

[peternap]

http://news.oldva.org/blogroll/is-virginia-law-for-sale-no-its-a-cash-cow/



Is Virginia law for sale? No, it's a cash cow!

Ever since the economic crisis started taking a bite out of the State and local budgets, I've noticed an increase in BLUE LIGHT ACTIVITY,

Are these people with expired plates a danger to the public.....Naw!

Are these people with expired inspection stickers a danger to the public...Naw!

Are these people CASH ON THE HOOF......Damn Skippy they are!

Ask any cop if they have ever rolled a drunk or taken money at gunpoint or stolen a car. The answer is of course, no. Well....The devil is in the details and the simple fact is, they do it multiple times every day.

Fines are better than taxes. If you need more money, write more tickets, make more arrests. Were the "Perps" endangering  anyone? Who cares! They have money and we can make them pay!

popsci

If you thought there was no science behind getting a speeding ticket, you're right, kind of... It's probably more of a case of economics. In North Carolina, at least, – where researchers examined 96 counties for a report in an upcoming issue of the Journal of Law and Economics – when local government revenue goes down, ticketing goes up.

Yes we've all said it before: public safety isn't the only motivation for tickets. (Can't you just give me a warning, Officer?) But now there is scientific proof of that long held suspicion.

The study authors, one from the Federal Reserve and one from the University of Arkansas, Little Rock, found a very small, but statistically significant correlation between a drop in local government revenue one year, and more traffic tickets the next year. If a county got one percentage point less money, they gave out around a third of a point more tickets.

Data was collected for 13 years starting in 1990, and the analysis corrects for demographic and economic differences in the sampled populations, the authors report. Unfortunately, they also found that if government pockets bulk up again, ticketing does not go back down. So in the current economic crisis, and after, make sure you keep your driving wits about you.
Traffic Violations

Bob Keefer Law

Various counties and cities in Virginia use the money raised from traffic fines to keep their budgets going.  State legislators are hopeful that they will raise millions of dollars with these fines.  Guess who is going to pay the price – the Virginia driver.

Since counties and cities have quotas to meet and traffic tickets are a major source of revenue, the law enforcement uses speed traps and other techniques to catch drivers.   According to the Speed Trap Exchange, Virginia Beach is ranked sixth on the top ten list of U.S. speed trap cities.

It's a shame that our Government is so concerned with paying the rent on their Ivory Towers, that they have to steal from the very people they are supposed to serve.

[Squirl]

It is interesting.  I edit a book on Money Laundering and Tax Evasion.  Tax prosecutions go up mostly in times of war.  The government tends to deficit spend most in times of war, then they prosecute tax cases.  This was especially evident in the 90's.  There was almost no money devoted to criminal prosecution of tax evasion.  You had to really work to get indicted.  Prosecutions have been up dramatically since 2003.

[Redoverfarm]

Another Bailout example

Little Johnnie in Montana bought a horse from a farmer for $100. The farmer agreed to deliver the horse the next day. The next day he drove up and said, 'Sorry son, but I have some bad news, the horse died.'

Johnnie replied, 'Well, then just give me my money back.'
The farmer said, 'Can't do that. I went and spent it already'

Johnnie said, 'Ok, then, just bring me the dead horse.'

The farmer asked, 'What ya gonna do with him?

Johnnie said, 'I'm going to raffle him off.'

The farmer said, 'You can't raffle off a dead horse!'

Johnnie said, 'Sure I can, Watch me. I just won't tell any body he's
dead.'

A month later, the farmer met up with Johnnie and asked, 'What happened with that dead horse?'

Johnnie said, 'I raffled him off. I sold 500 tickets at two dollars a
piece and made a profit of $898..'

The farmer said, 'Didn't anyone complain?'

Johnnie said, 'Just the guy who won. So I gave him his two dollars
back.'

Johnnie grew up and now works for the government.

He was the one who figured out how to "bail us out".

[rwanders]

Back in the 40's and 50's several little towns in the Carolinas and Georgia on old US Route 1 ran some classic speed and stoplight traps for tourists headed to Florida. My personal favorite was when the lone stop light in these town did not have a yellow----only a red and green. The local cop actually controlled the light from his parking spot around the corner. As you approached the light he would push the button just as you were entering the intersection. You were then escorted down the road to the Justice of the Peace to pay your fine (toll). I remember my parents paying a few of them (and dad was an attorney). Of course, local yokels were not targeted. When these little scams became completely notorious and it was discovered that practically the entire town budget was provided by the 'fines", the state finally shut them down. Towns and states have since learned to be much more devious (and efficient) at these kind of revenue enhancements.

[tanya]

And the savings and loan scandals way back  Those were perpetrated by a Bush brother.  How soon we forget. 

[MountainDon]

Let us not forget Charles Keating and his senator friends who made up the Keating Five; Democrats all except for John McCain.  Three US Senators found their political careers cut short as a result. John Glenn and the sole Republican John McCain were rebuked by the Senate Ethics Committee for exercising "poor judgment".

[tanya]

And they should be brought up on charges of high treason.  Lying about our economy and taking the public for hundreds of billions of dollars and then our officials handing them over some more.  It's embarassing.  They should have slapped their damn hands good and hard the first time, and told them if they came in crying again they would get something to cry about. 

[tanya]

And you know in Taiwan they are bailing out their economy but they are giving vouchers to the PUBLIC to use as they see fit,  not for special interest tax rebates and huge corporate bailouts.  I don't see how we can call this a capitalist nation anymore.  In a capitalist nation when an industry goes foul, it fails, govt. doesn't save it, that is what capitalism is.  This trying to save all these corrupt industries where their very own greed, delibrate mismanagement, and plain old fashioned stealing from the publiic is wrong!!! It rewards the bad behavior and will only lead to more of the same.  Soon things will turn bad and martial law will be envoked and then govt. will be feeding everyone, well the less prepared anyway.