Taxation by Citation in California

John Brennan reports on "taxation" in California:

In the past, I have been the unlucky recipient of my share of traffic tickets, but have not had one in more than ten years. I was last cited for not coming to a complete stop at a stop sign. I didn’t fight the case and reluctantly paid the $40.00 fine. And the amount was just that; $40.00. I thought that it was a bit high, but at the time, I remember not feeling overly gouged. Today, that same fine would be $280.00 dollars; quite an increase in just ten years. As I sat in that court, I could not believe how expensive fines have become. Running a red light is now $425.00. Not signaling; $140.00. Five miles over the speed limit in a school zone sucks you of $530.00 .I listened to the judge on almost 50 cases in that brief time and roughly estimated the state of California took in about $50,000.00 dollars in that one hour. The assessed amount for fines was astronomical. But now you pay not only the fine, they also throw in the court costs. You pay for the cost of the court to collect that fine from you. And these fees have also become absurd. To now settle my $40.00 ticket , I would be charged another $35.00. Which simply says one thing, and one thing only: traffic fines have become an incredible source of revenue for the states. I say states because I am sure it is the same across the country. So, by applying simple logic, we can deduce that the more tickets issued, the more income for the state. It doesn’t take a genius to see writing tickets has become very profitable indeed. There’s a lot of money in traffic fines. And right now, every municipality across the country is in desperate need of every last cent they can lay their greedy little hands on. Which clearly translates to: More tickets.

Just a reminder.