Rather than deal forthrightly with the reality that unrealistic promises made to their employees cannot be honored, local government has pursued a strategy of legalizing looting.
The gradual erosion of civil liberties, legal rights and government ethics are connected: our rights don't just vanish into thin air, they are expropriated by government: Federal, state and local. Though much is written about the loss of civil liberties at the Federal level, many of the most blatantly illegal power grabs are occurring in local government.
This expropriation is under the radar of the average citizen because the process slowly chips away the fundamentals of legality and justice: bit by bit, due process and the rights of the individual have been eroded by state and local governments until the fundamental Constitutional protections simply cease to exist.
When local government looting is legalized, the entire system is illegal. Here are three recent examples of blatantly illegal looting by local governments.
First up: privatizing the collection of traffic fines and probation to create a modernized debtor's prison. We turn to The Nation for the story:
The Town That Turned Poverty Into a Prison Sentence Most states shut down their debtors’ prisons more than 100 years ago; in 2005, Harpersville, Alabama, opened one back up.
More @ Zero Hedge
I am amazed at the number of so-called Patriots or Conservatives out there who feel these pensions are entirely justified. They are no different than if I were to make an agreement for my children or grandchildren to pay for something I get. They pay a few % into these things (maybe) then scream they are theirs by right and they do not care how the taxpayers get robbed to get them their money.
ReplyDeleteI don't believe you can group all together. For instance, those in the service who have worked for 30 years should have their retirement.
DeleteThe government has no business promising anyone pensions. Every one of us is responsible for our own retirement period. If such and such job is so tough then it should be dealt with in pay not in promises against a future no one is certain of. Yes even the military.
DeleteI would make exceptions for those who are disabled in service of course. By saying X is a hard job and we can't pay them Y so we promised N to be paid by future Americans is a scam and robbing from our children.
Every one of us is responsible for our own retirement period.
DeleteThat would have to be started now going forward. You certainly shouldn't renege on your word, though our government has a bad track record on this,
Well if pensions cost 80% of taxes and infrastructure costs 60% who is gonna get screwed? The government has zero right to make a contract that binds the hands of future generations, just the same as I have no right to bind the hands of my grand children. If all I am getting for my taxes is paying for some promise some politician made that he had no right to make... Well I won't pay taxes.
DeleteAs I said " You certainly shouldn't renege on your word." Period, otherwise you have no honor which is sadly lacking in today's society. Re-instituting dueling would change that in a heartbeat.
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