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The Louisiana Town Where a Traffic Stop Can Lead to One Charge After Another
(www.propublica.org)
this post was submitted on 26 Apr 2024
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It sounds like it might be another form of poor tax.
Your license/inspection is expired (possibly because you either couldn't afford to renew it, or couldn't take the day off to renew it) = given a fine.
Misses a payment, because they already couldn't afford the fine = given another fine and a court date.
Have to show up in court, but can't, again for the same reason you never renewed your license or paid the fine = given yet another fine.
It just seems like it is intended to snowball due to greed. But maybe I'm wrong and just excessively jaded and cynical.
We have plenty of speed trap towns like that around here. They want lower property taxes, so they augment their income using bullshit fines they give to out of towners. I'm sure they're shittier to poor people and people of color like all cops are, but really they want someone who will pay the fine and lives far enough that they won't go to court.
It is just one of several reasons traffic fines should go to the state or federal government.
Traffic fines should go to the schools, but you're right that the feds are probably the best ones to dole the money out.