What do Andy Johnson, Anthony Smelley, the Hammond family, Charlie Engle, Tammy Cooper, Nancy Black, Russ Caswell, Jacques Wajsfelner, Jeff Councelller, Eric Garner, Martha Boneta, James Slatic, Carole Hinders, Salvatore Culosi, and James Lieto, as well as the Sierra Pacific Company and the entire Meitev family have in common?
They are all victims of brutal, unfair, capricious, and evil government actions. And I challenge anyone to read their stories and not feel at least some degree of outrage at their mistreatment.
And now we’re going to add Corey Statham to the list. The New York Times has an all-too-typical report of government greed and callousness.
Corey Statham had $46 in his pockets when he was arrested in Ramsey County, Minn., and charged with disorderly conduct. He was released two days later, and the charges were dismissed. But the county kept $25 of Mr. Statham’s money as a “booking fee.” …He did get a debit card for the remaining $21. But there was no practical way to extract his cash without paying some kind of fee. Among them: $1.50 a week for “maintenance” of the unwanted card, starting after 36 hours; $2.75 for using an A.T.M. to withdraw money; $3 for transferring the balance to a bank account; and $1.50 for checking the balance. …Mr. Statham is represented by Michael A. Carvin, a prominent conservative lawyer who…said the county’s motives were not rooted in solicitude for the people it had arrested. “Revenue-starved local governments are increasingly turning toward fees like Ramsey County’s in order to bridge their budgetary gaps,” he wrote in a Supreme Court brief. …“Providing a profit motive to make arrests,” he said, “gives officers an incentive to make improper arrests.” …$25 is not a lot of money — unless you are poor. It represents almost half a day’s work at the federal minimum wage, a federal judge wrote in a dissent in another case on booking fees.
I have no idea whether Mr. Statham is a sympathetic victim. But even if he’s a total jerk, that doesn’t change the fact that people who interact with the legal system should not be subject to fines or fees without a conviction.
This is yet another example of innocent people victimized by “policing for profit,” which notoriously happens with civil asset forfeiture.
And at the risk of sounding like a closet leftist, it bothers me when poor people and rich people face the same fines. I don’t know Statham’s situation, but there are plenty of low-income people who can suffer severe financial consequences when they have an unfortunate encounter with local law enforcement. Maybe we should be like Switzerland and proportionately adjust fines based on wealth. I don’t suggest that because I want local governments to have more money. Instead, I’m thinking such a policy would both make the law more equal and give the rest of us a strong incentive to fight against thuggish revenue-raising tactics.
P.S. I’m obviously on the side of Statham’s lawyer, but I can’t resist correcting something said by Michael Carvin. I’ve never looked at the numbers for Ramsey County, but, based on nationwide fiscal data for state and local governments, I will say with 99 percent confidence that Ramsey County is not “revenue-starved.” In the interests of accuracy, Mr. Carvin in the future should refer to local politicians as being “revenue-hungry.”
P.P.S. On a separate topic, here’s a nice reminder of the difference between the private sector and the government.
A man in Pomona was upset after a postal carrier was seen on surveillance video throwing a small package on his doorstep, but a surprise hero was also captured on footage. Brian Mundy sent the video to our sister station in Los Angeles using #abc7eyewitness. In it, you see the U.S. Postal Service carrier carelessly tossing the package. Much to Mundy’s surprise, moments later, a FedEx driver – wearing a reindeer hat – is seen gently putting down two packages. That driver even picks up the small box from the USPS carrier and gently puts it on top of the rest.
It’s all on video if you click on the story link. Yes, this is just an anecdote. And, yes, I’m sure there are plenty of bad FedEx employees and wonderful Postal Service employees. I’m mostly sharing the story for amusement value.
But I suspect John Stossel was right when he explained that, as a general rule, the private sector will do a better job.
Even in my country, and it is shitty,.. We have health insurance. Basic indeed, but with some wits, you can get full. 🙂 🙂 🙂 What’s America good about again?!
[…] Corey Statham […]
[…] Corey Statham […]
One thing you all overlook is the fact that the $25 is not the reason behind the corruption. It is the fake court case that goes with it. For example: A man is arrested for no real apparent reason, other then the cops give themselves the power. The man hours equals more then the $25 by itself. Then there is the paperwork and then the court case and basically $25 becomes 10’s of thousands if not 100’s. Who pays for this? The tax payer. All of this nonsense enables this criminal system to extract or should i say extort cash by any means they feel. They just choose this person because he is the least likely to contest, which means they can keep their authority and issue more revenue raising via statistical garbage. They get more control and RAPE society blind.
However, if they decide to do the same thing to a wealthy person, they will then increase the fine and the court case will be ensued and even if these corrupt criminals lose, the tax payer still pays the cost. Either way these dictators of fake democracy win. If an outrage begins this will spark riots or demonstrations which will spark military police action and be broadcast in some heinous way to belittle the people and praise the corrupts, which will then give them lots more money for their criminal regime. Who has all the fire power if you do not comply?
There is a reason they have war and claim it to be protection, when we all know that is a load of rubbish. It creates wealth and you guessed it, more power for these scumbags.
[…] Corey Statham […]
[…] Black, Russ Caswell, Jacques Wajsfelner, Jeff Councelller, Eric Garner, Martha Boneta, Corey Statham, James Slatic, Carole Hinders, Salvatore Culosi, and James Lieto, as well as the Sierra […]
[…] local governments are basically extortion rackets. And the targets are usually the less […]
[…] periodically list people who have suffered horrible abuse because of despicable actions by government. At some point, I’ll have to create a special page to […]
[…] periodically list people who have suffered horrible abuse because of despicable actions by government. At some point, I’ll have to create a special […]
[…] that do exist should be designed to protect people from external aggression. Especially given the horror stories that are produced by the alternative […]
[…] be honest. Such a policy is not about criminal justice. It’s about figuring out new ways of pillaging people to finance […]
[…] Maybe the answer is to levy fines based on income. If a lot of middle class and rich people suddenly experienced severe financial discomfort like the poor, that might generate enough pressure to shut down these revenue-raising scams. […]
[…] Maybe the answer is to levy fines based on income. If a lot of middle class and rich people suddenly experienced severe financial discomfort like the poor, that might generate enough pressure to shut down these revenue-raising scams. […]
[…] Maybe the answer is to levy fines based on income. If a lot of middle class and rich people suddenly experienced severe financial discomfort like the poor, that might generate enough pressure to shut down these revenue-raising scams. […]
Sir,
In reference to the continuing and increasing economic rape of the citizenry, I would suggest that you take some time to converse with Walter Burien and study the site: http://www.cafr1.com; where you might learn that all this is being done to accumulate funds to enhance the economic welfare of those directly benefiting from these “fines” and “fees”. And none of the “crying poor” is real.
It is all a con job, which you surely suspect – and the citizenry are the ones being conned.
Reblogged this on Gds44's Blog.
In the metro area where I live there are several townships that are known for their “charges dismissed, pay court costs” traffic courts. They get away with it because for most people it is cheaper to pay the 25-50$ then to hire a lawyer to fight it.
I can think of one, in fact, where cab companies and delivery drivers refuse to do business at all. When I was a cab driver I was confused by the number of fares that I would either pick up or drop off at a particular convenience store–it turned out that the place was just outside the limits of that particular town and residents walked there to call a cab because they knew that drivers wouldn’t risk picking them up at their homes.
[…] Source: The Local Government Extortion Racket | International Liberty […]