The Unions Aren't Detroit's Only Problem

reprint from www.backupamerica.org
For Any And All American Conserve-atives

Recently due to an extended stay in one of the southern states in the U.S. due to the aging and health of elderly parents, and recurring hospitalization over the course of the last two years involving two separate surgeries for each of them, as an almost lifelong westerner it was interesting to see just how some of the others states throughout the nation are obtaining additional taxes and revenue from their state residents.

It appears the games, costs and fees are getting steeper and steeper with each and every passing year. No matter how much revenue the states and local governments seem to get, it is never enough.

Like their big brother, the federal government progressively has become.

One of my relatives had a rather minor traffic violation during my stay. This state is also one of the few that has invoked a state law requiring automobile inspections annually, and not simply for emissions but equipment also (and only Americans registering their vehicles, when many cars in this country driven on our roadways due to globalization are not Americans, but also foreigners from Mexico and Canada particularly).

The costs for these inspections, of course, is another tax shared with the auto repair shops, and while the state fee is set at one rate, those auto repair shops are free to tack on even additional profits over and above that which they are getting from the state also for this less than three minute inspection.

Of course, it costs the state nothing for these inspections other than a few cents for the cost of those stickers, and the local governments also have been given permission by the big brother state government to also add on sums for their local coffers to the base state rate.

Quite a chunk of revenue for the state, local governments and those auto repair shops.

Which has also, due to the hurricanes and such that have ocurred in the South, increased the city and state coffers tremendously in those broken headlight, tailight, and directional signal violations on a public that is still reeling from the devastation of several hurricanes, Katrina, Rita and Gustav, within the past five years.

Some of which fines, in addition to then having to prove compliance with those laws, are levied at over $150-200 per violation.

Of course, under the common law compliance with the law in and of itself is supposed to be the aim, not the state (or city) making profits off of such petty civil violations, since that is what all those other assundry taxes are supposed to pay for, particularly sales, registration and those property taxes on automobiles already assessed against drivers - law enforcement and those public services and expenses that are governmental.

Problem is, due to all the discretionary spending, more and more the city/state are privatizing the actual intended governmental functions for added revenue in these public/private partnerships transferring the costs then to the private sector, yet affording them unregulated profits in the bargain, and then using then the revenue for discretionary expenditures at a greater and greater clip.

Making, of course, the tax bite then on the public astronomical now in the process, not simply for the costs of government actually, but also the profit margins of their state actor corporate entities.

And now, added to the ever increasing fines for minor traffic tickets is another corporate practice and cost which the state and local governments have incorporated which proves the corporate mentality, rather than Constitutional one, is running rampant at all levels of government.

Service charges now, in addition to even court costs, mean that your average speeding or failure to yield violation ticket now is approaching $300 or more nationwide, plus junk fees.

This method of revenue generation has become so lucrative, that many states are now leasing those speed cams like candy from the gadget industry and that science and technology field they are so enamoured with more and more.

Many of which, of course, are manufactured overseas. Or at least their parts.

Although the mandatory auto insurance laws throughout the nation still have many detractors, since the original concept for passage of that legislation way back when (1960's) was sold to the public in order to lessen taxpayer costs for our courts for property damage claims primarily, which 90% of all accidents actually are with only 10% involving damages over $1,000 (which it hasn't done, it has increased and bogged up our courts actually more since now those cases involve insurance company defense teams at higher costs, and more lengthy trials rather than small claims actions, for the most part), some of them are even passing legislation mandating impoundment of vehicles where the driver of such vehicle does not have proof of insurance.

Even though the driver of the vehicle itself may not even be the registered owner of the automobile, in many instances.

And is, in fact, a way in which the states with such laws apparently are attempting to circumvent the "due process" clause by confiscating property even without an opportunity for those individuals to have their day in court, or offer their arguments regarding the mandatory insurance laws and their applicability based on Constitutional grounds also.

Prior to the passage of those laws, proof of financial responsibility instead provided provisions for lower cost bonds, secured with collateral or "bondability" in some states as part of the licensing process.

This law, of course, is also a law in which even though less than 10% of the automobiles driven in America are involved in any type of moving violation, and even fewer involving significant injury or property damage, the masses are being actually punished for the actions of the few.

At this point with America's economy on such a downward spiral, and most of these backdoor taxes actually contributing to the decline in the ability of most Americans to stimulate the economies by having any leftover discretionary income at this point, many who argue in favor of rescinding the mandatory auto insurance laws do have a point, in my opinion.

Requring young drivers, or those who are getting older with slower reaction times, or even those who live in major metropolitan areas who demonstrate by the number of moving violations they have been cited for in any given number of years (the former point system) to have to purchase auto insurance would be letting the punishment fit the crime in those instances.

If the automobile industry is seeing a lack of sales, it just might truly be that the ultimate costs to now drive an automobile in this country, are also getting a little too much for the American public to bear.

And that doesn't count the cost of repairs to those expensive computers, in the event of malfunction, or theft.

That bill, just to "diagnose" the problem, is now over $100 and up at most automobile repair shops.

And don't even think of attempting to change your own oil, or sparkplugs on these babies. Or even replace a light in the headlamp, since those are so delicate that it takes a professional to simply change a bulb for most.

Not to mention the terms of some of those loans and leases, with all the caveats and hidden charges now contained within them, advertising those great low interest loans, but simply packaging those loans and lease terms with junk fees and charges to make up for the lowered interest rates.

Or the costs to simply register, or come up with the sales taxes on the purchase of a car. Most of the time, equaling about a third of its purchsae price by the time most Americans drive off that lot.

So Detroit's problems are complex, and doubt that it is simply the models they are offering (except to those Americans who would not own a car with a computer at this point to begin with) or being undercut to a large extent by foreign imports although that also has had a major impact in that some of those foreign imports concentrate on making the smaller, economy models which is now what the majority of the public can afford - not those gas guzzlers, or ones with so many bells and whistles that the upkeep and maintenance on them is a constant drain and large chunk of their take home pay.

It's the whole package in the costs involved in America today in having that "privilege" which is turning more and more into a liability.

Sort of like home "non-ownership" has become.

Money pits, and revenue generators for the state most of all in double, triple and quadruple taxation in one form or another.

It appears that it just might be that the market is speaking, and holding on to those old clunkers for a very good reason.