When the county needs revenue...

it puts lots of police out to catch speeders.

In the past couple weeks, I've noticed many more police operating speed traps than I've ever seen. My county is getting less in property taxes because housing prices are dropping. People will object to an increase in the tax rate at this time when so many are struggling. The state is getting a lot less in tax revenue because incomes are down (or at least not growing), unemployment is up, and purchases of sales taxable items are down. They are, in turn, cutting down on the money they pass to the counties.

I tried to get a book at the county library that wasn't in the system. I asked about Inter-Library Loan. They told me that for a while, they have had to suspend the program because of budget cuts. I think that's wonderful. I'd hate to waste my tax dollars on something so unnecessary as Inter-Library Loan books while they are cutting teachers from classrooms. If I want that book badly enough, I can buy it.

Personally, I want the county to end all busing to any school other than the one to which one is assigned based upon where one lives. I even sent an e-mail to the school superintendent to tell him so.


The problem is this. When times are good (think the government projected surplus at the end of the Clinton administration) the government was planning on how to spend projected the surplus. They wanted to expand what the government does for everyone. They were not working on how to pay off government debt, how to make a fund for when the economy wasn't so great, or how to cut government services when people were doing so well.

It turned out the projected surplus wasn't real (who really thought it was?), and people have become addicted to government spending. Now that things aren't going so well and revenues are down, we have so many people used to so much from the government that the cuts necessary to balance the budget are painful.

Anyway, if your locality is using the police speed trap to raise revenue, beware and drive slowly and carefully to avoid a stealth tax (and an accident).