License Plate Scanner Equipped Helicopters

[rhertz]

Originally Posted by KSLA

Thursday night's operation resulted in no recovered stolen cars and nobody was arrested for stealing cars. But the Shreveport Police Department and State Police consider last night's operation a huge success. "This really showed last night how successful that can be running the joint operation," says Ortiz. Thursday night's test run did result in 34 tickets written

Something about this bothers me. They tout this as an effort to recover stolen cars, but recover no cars and instead write 34 tickets at oh lets say $100 each for a total of $3,400 in one day. Apparently this $20k reader will pay for itself in no time! Even if it recovers no stolen cars. If less than 1 in 2,400 cars is stolen, then do we really need this level of intrusion in our lives? But we might as well get used to it because government is getting ever bigger while computers are getting ever faster and cheaper.. this could lead to a bad mix someday.

[Texasbelle]

Well made point Rhertz. I would love to know what those 34 tickets were for.

[Pocahontas]

Originally Posted by rhertz

Something about this bothers me. They tout this as an effort to recover stolen cars, but recover no cars and instead write 34 tickets at oh lets say $100 each for a total of $3,400 in one day. Apparently this $20k reader will pay for itself in no time! Even if it recovers no stolen cars. If less than 1 in 2,400 cars is stolen, then do we really need this level of intrusion in our lives? But we might as well get used to it because government is getting ever bigger while computers are getting ever faster and cheaper.. this could lead to a bad mix someday.

There's definitely something fishy about this whole thing. All this expensive high technology and only 1 in 2400 cars are stolen. Sure sounds more like an excuse to spy on everyone and pick on the smaller harmless perpetrators...such as parking tickets etc.

[rhertz]

Only the government can come up empty handed and still call the results a huge success. Free enterprise sure doesn't work that way. I guess what they mean by "huge success" is writing more ticket$ without having to work as hard to write them.

[Isaac-Saxxon]

Originally Posted by rhertz

Only the government can come up empty handed and still call the results a huge success. Free enterprise sure doesn't work that way. I guess what they mean by "huge success" is writing more ticket$ without having to work as hard to write them.

You are so right rhertz that is why public employees could not work in the private sector. I think if we look at the police and people that work at the post office you will find birds of a fetter tend to flock together.
Isaac

[rhertz]

Originally Posted by Texasbelle

Well made point Rhertz. I would love to know what those 34 tickets were for.

Oh I'm sure it is stuff like expired registration, lapse in insurance coverage, or otherwise not paying some mandatory tax, fee, or expense.

Why not setup 50 of these stations all over town and when a real crime occurs such as an armed robbery or Amber alert, then they would type the plate into the system and wait for the tags to surface. Now that might be worth the intrusion.

[rhertz]

Originally Posted by Isaac-Saxxon

You are so right rhertz that is why public employees could not work in the private sector. I think if we look at the police and people that work at the post office you will find birds of a fetter tend to flock together.

Police are a good thing to have, and I respect much of what they do. But I think they should focus more on violent crime. (crimes against society) Sure there is no quick money to be made here, but it is a much more noble effort than writing tickets because you left your garbage can on the curb too long. People want to move to areas with less violent crime and this is the best "economic development" program that we could have, rather than building government owned hotels, steel mills, sugar plants, golf courses, etc. Clean things up, and these businesses will happen driven by the private sector as it should be. But launching expensive fluff programs while there are real criminals floating around is wrong.

[joepole]

Why would police using this device to issue tickets bother you?

Also, if it "pays for itself in no time" then how is it expensive?

[scarlett]

Originally Posted by Santabot

Remember what we all agreed upon over 200 years ago, that laws would be made FOR the people, and BY the people. If you are unsatisfied about laws you are forced to obey, speak out, rather than cowering in your hole (which is getting even smaller by the amount of police presence lately) and allowing our government to overtake us.

The government is more powerful than we are so how do you win? You can speak up all you want but are you heard? As a middle class person and I believe most of us here are this, we pay the most in taxes. I feel middle class pay for everything the rich get richer and the poor get richer but the middle class stays the same.

[Texasbelle]

Just for curiosities sake Scarlett, what income level do you consider rich and what percentage of taxes do you think they pay?

[scarlett]

Originally Posted by Texasbelle

Just for curiosities sake Scarlett, what income level do you consider rich and what percentage of taxes do you think they pay?

Anyone that makes over 250k-300k/yr would be sitting comfortable. After 90k you don't pay social security, from there anyone making that much believe me gets a tax break on everything. Rich honestly has to make more than 500k/yr but sitting comfortable is 250-300k.

I know I pay 33% due to being a business owner sucks for sure but i am a small business owner i'm not microsoft who is very wealthy not just sitting comfortable.

What do you feel is rich and what do you think they pay? I know rich people get too many tax breaks that the middle class picks up.

[Al Swearengen]

Government just gets more and more intrusive by the damn day. They just keep pushin and pushin...if the bastards aint careful they're gonna end up pushin this country into a revolution. I hope they do. Things'll have to get worse before they can get better, and we're all ready for it to get better. They're skatin on thin ice.

[rhertz]

Originally Posted by joepole

Why would police using this device to issue tickets bother you?

Also, if it "pays for itself in no time" then how is it expensive?

It bothers me because of the high efficiency of computers while nearly 100% of drivers break the law on a regular basis (on purpose or not). As the old expression goes, "Rules are meant to be broken". So this all amounts to is nothing but another tax, unless maybe it actually locates significant numbers of stolen cars as designed. (or was that really the design)

As for the expense of the thing, good point. I will respond with two points. If it pays for itself in no time, then I the taxpayer am the investor, but with no vote on the matter. Second would be the faulty design precept. (intend to find stolen cars but really intended to generate revenue thru ticketing of much smaller offenses)

[Texasbelle]

Originally Posted by scarlett

Anyone that makes over 250k-300k/yr would be sitting comfortable. After 90k you don't pay social security, from there anyone making that much believe me gets a tax break on everything. Rich honestly has to make more than 500k/yr but sitting comfortable is 250-300k.

I know I pay 33% due to being a business owner sucks for sure but i am a small business owner i'm not microsoft who is very wealthy not just sitting comfortable.

What do you feel is rich and what do you think they pay? I know rich people get too many tax breaks that the middle class picks up.

I think you are very misinformed is what I think. I would prefer not to give up much on my lifestyle but there are not and I repeat not tax breaks on everything for what you feel are rich people. We fall into about a 40-45% tax bracket which means us at this level no longer even get to deduct our children. How is that fair? Another example would be medical expenses. You probably get to deduct all of yours. We do not get to deduct ANY unless they are 10% of our income. How is that fair? I could go on and on but I won't. We'd be here all night. I can reassure you though that there is "rich" and "superrich" and it's probably the super rich that may be hitting the real tax breaks.

I wonder how Neo feels about this?