The town of Ferguson made headlines as riots appeared. Who will not forget the police with military gear acting like an invading army. Many supported the police and much of the Black Lives Matter movement began there. The story nobody wanted to tell was that the police of Ferguson have a real attitude problem that sparked the riot. That is because they are trained to raise money for the town. Ferguson uses police and the Courts to prey on its residents to raise money and 23% of its entire budget is based upon writing tickets and handing out the maximum fines. They then jail people who can’t pay.
Ferguson expects to raise $3.09 million of projected $13.26 in revenue from fines and fees. They use the police to raise money. For example, an unmowed lawn in Ferguson will be fined between $77 and $102, though in some other cities it’s a $5 offense. Take a 2-week vacation, and you have a ticket when you come home.
This is the entire problem. No government should be allowed to fine people PERIOD! You should be ordered to pay to a charity of your choice – but not to the government. Remove the “money” from their incentive and we will return the rule of law to what it should be – justice.
