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If that municipal or county government is operated by unionized public workers, including police, then the revenue collection is going primarily to pay that uni
by motohagiography 7y ago
If that municipal or county government is operated by unionized public workers, including police, then the revenue collection is going primarily to pay that union, who in turn fund politicians who continue their revenue collection policies to pay their members. It's capture, so in effect, kleptocracy.
- duxup 7y agoUnder your description all government that pays someone(s) would qualify. That's not what kleptocracy means. >is going primarily to pay that union, I don't think that is accurate.
- mywittyname 7y agoThe article even specifies that several towns earmark fine revenue specifically and exclusively for use by the police department: > Georgia, for example, levies about a dozen fees, and they’re used to pay for a state police motorcycle unit, a brain and spinal injury trust fund, and a police supplemental retirement fund. And the other cases where the money for fines paid in cash just disappeared: > A Louisiana state audit last year found that some cash payments for citations in Fenton were never deposited in the village’s bank account and alleged improper compensation to city officials. These are just the direct ways in which revenue from fines are funneled into the pocketbooks of those writing the citations. It doesn't even look into the more tradition mechanics of kleptocrats, where government funds are directly funneled to businesses owned by politicians.
- duxup 7y agoI don't think given examples of questionable behavior means it's all "kleptocracy". The article does a good job describing the tax policies that influence heavy reliance on fines and etc, that's not kleptocracy, that's just bad policy with bad results.