That title doesn't quite match the Leonard Cohen lyrics for driving fear into your heart. But maybe it should:
After her sport utility vehicle sideswiped a van in early February, Shirley Kimel was amazed at how quickly a handful of police officers and firefighters in Winter Haven, Fla., showed up. But a real shock came a week later, when a letter arrived from the city billing her $316 for the cost of responding to the accident...
Such cash-per-crash ordinances tend to infuriate motorists, and they often generate bad press, but a lot of cities are finding them hard to resist. With the economy flailing and budgets strained, state and local governments are being creative about ways to raise money. And the go-to idea is to invent a fee — or simply raise one.
As the White House Chief of Staff said, never let a crisis go to waste.
What a great way to keep the economy moving. Make an accident more expensive for the driver so they can't repair their car, pay the rent, afford food.
According the above article, the city expects either Shirley Kimel or her insurance company to pay. So no big deal, right? Shirley can fob it off on her insurance tab and carry on with life. Fat chance. The article states that in most cases, the insurance company does not cover the cash-per-crash fee. But how about the cases where they do? You can bet the farm that every insurance company is going to take a close look at a city's cash-per-crash laws and hike insurance premiums accordingly. Vacation? Out. DVD player? Not this year. Hire an extra employee? Forget it.
The decline of democracy is not being caused by a war from without. It's being caused by a war from within. A political class is scaring you into believing you owe them more, and more, and more, and they're here to collect. They're not the "public servant." You are.
Serfdom meet the 21st century.
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