The Demand for Money Behind Many Police Traffic Stops

If you've ever been to a municipal court for a traffic ticket (I've noticed this even in smaller town of the US) you'll find a courtroom packed full of people (more than not lower income folks) and a judge who rattles off fines like an auctioneer ($50... $130 for you... $90... $250...). It's clearly a huge money maker for the local government.

One obvious fix might be require all revenue from traffic fines etc. to be paid into the state general fund rather than to the agencies that write the tickets.

This is the tip of the iceberg. How about we talk about outright authoritarian theft like civil forfeiture where they seize your assets and threaten you with fake charges if you plan to appeal it.<p>We would call this a fascist dictatorial authoritarian practice if it was in another country caught in the crosshairs of the empire:<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.forbes.com&#x2F;sites&#x2F;instituteforjustice&#x2F;2015&#x2F;03&#x2F;19&#x2F;the-dea-is-seizing-cash-without-warrants-in-its-version-of-stop-and-frisk&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.forbes.com&#x2F;sites&#x2F;instituteforjustice&#x2F;2015&#x2F;03&#x2F;19&#x2F;...</a>