My initial reaction to the proposal of pay at the pump insurance was "wow, what a great idea!" As long as we are required to maintain liability insurance (and a huge percentage of motorists still do not carry it), why not go to state insurance and pay at the pump? That would guarantee everyone's covered! Then, I began contemplating what governments do with new revenue sources.
Look at how screwed up Medicare/Medicaid is, look at the disaster of Social Security taxes being spent on every other thing. Why should we think that Minneapolis, or the state of Minnesota would manage an auto insurance plan any better? Doubtless, the money would go into the general fund, and be used for whatever pet-projects the law-makers fancied at a given time. Accidents would begin to directly cost the government money, which could lead to justification of all sorts of new regulations and penalties. Being at fault for a simple accident could be cause for fines (to cover the money the government had to pay out on claims from your accident - even though you already paid for it), revocation of driver's license, jail, who knows? Look at the health care situation. Because the government has to subsidise so much of medical care, they feel they have the right to ban smoking, sue tobacco, fast food, and soda companies, all to protect the bottom line. The more government is responsible for, the more regulated our lives will become. Soon, table salt will probably be banned (it is the "most dangerous household food item") because medicare and HMOs can't afford to keep shelling out for blood-pressure meds and cardiac problems. No. Sounded good at first read, but keep in mind the law of unintended consequences. Put another way, look before you leap. The same can be said for red-light cameras. Everybody sees this plan, and thinks, "wow! what a great idea!" free up cops for more important things, reduce light-running and accidents, AND make money for the city! But at what cost? What are the unintended consequences of automated law enforcement? Studies in Australia, Virginia and North Carolina all found an increase in accident-injuries where these systems have been installed. A study in Ontario, Canada found a 50% increase in rear-end collisions, and a 5% increase in fatal rear-end collisions where the cameras were used. Many cities have seen tinkering with light timing to maximize revenues. Don't be so naive as to think Minneapolis can (or will) do it better. What happens if the cameras actually start to have a desired effect, and the revenue (that the city is now dependent on) from the cameras dries up? That has been happening in DC. Their answer? Automate more law enforcement to make up the revenue gap. Now they have stationary radar/camera combos that issue speeding tickets, and have to continually expand the red-light camera plan to keep revenues coming in. DC is addicted to automated citation money. If the cameras work, and reduce violations, then, do we start tinkering, to boost revenues (change yellow timing, etc), or seek a new revenue source? Would we maintain the cameras if they were losing money? What else will red-light cameras lead to? How long before bio-metrics technology will allow enforcement of other laws with cameras? And what other behaviors may be monitored? What will a future administration use the technology for? What new laws might be enacted which may be enforced electronically? The city government's answer would be "don't be silly. We're just doing the red-light camera thing, and then we'll stop." It never stops. One thing always leads to another. That's precedent. What's next? Dan McGrath Longfellow http://www.smokeoutgary.org REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[email protected] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
