If you’re old enough to have even a vague memory of the Seventies, you likely remember movies and TV depictions of the small town speed trap, the corrupt judges and lawyers, the greedy mayor all arrayed against the hippie hero who falls into their clutches. The hero wasn’t always a hippie – but the system was always corrupt to its core.

The idea that every small town in every state (not just the South) was out to victimize as many hapless travelers as possible might not be completely true – but the history of governments both small and large profiteering on those least able to fight back is long and sordid – and continuing.

Speed traps still exist and travelers are still prime victims – but they are far from the only ones. It’s hard to pass new taxes – taxation brings government spending into question and governments have to justify the need for the new funds. Sometimes that need is legitimate but unpopular – it’s really hard to convince people that they should pay higher taxes so you can get a pay raise even when the raise is deserved. When it’s not, no government wants to attempt to raise taxes.

So what’s a good – or a shady – politician to do? Well, no one minds raising fees that they aren’t presently having to pay. Building fees which are only intermittently incurred are great for this – by the time most people realize the fees are unfair, the money is long gone. But not every municipality even has a building department let alone much building revenue – what can they do?

Speeding tickets! After all, speeding is a crime and no one really cares if some guy from out of town has to pay $250 or more for being 5 mph above the speed limit – allegedly. Even better, most people don’t contest tickets, especially if they aren’t locals or have jobs they can’t easily take time off from.

But what if you don’t have a major thoroughfare or one you can lasso? Well, middle class folks who are likely to complain are usually don’t let tags expire – or pay without contest if not. But poor people may have lapsed tags – and no one cares if ‘lawbreakers’ get in trouble – never mind that this literally makes police into tax collectors because tag fees ARE taxes. And seriously, how big is this problem that the taxes can’t be collected by the probate office?

Non-moving violations – expired tags, broken tail lights, and a host of other minor infractions become a gold mine for municipalities. Public safety isn’t enhanced – they just get more money without having to face voters over those pesky taxes.

It’s not a minor problem. It causes far more than a little frustration for a few people – it can and does lead to the break down of respect for the judicial system itself. No one respects corruption – not even the real crooks. But the truth is, these kinds of things make criminals of the law abiding – and victims of the innocent. You only have to be cheated once to lose respect for the system that cheated you.

This week, we’ll look at these issues more in depth. Taxation by citation is very real – and extremely unfair. It brings even legitimate fees into question and causes whole sectors of society to question the validity of the judicial system itself.