Theft and corruption in American local governments

As we look at corruption – at government corruption, we must always remember that corruption is not limited to the White House, the Capitol in DC, and the Supreme Court. Nor to the fifty State Capitols.

No, local government is just as much infected with the corruption of both money and power. And growing worse. A century ago, no local government attempted to regulate the lives of its residents and the activities of the businesses in its jurisdiction to one-tenth the degree we find common in 2024.

Let’s look at a few examples:

Last year, the Washington Examiner has a fascinating story about a well-known phenomenon, speed-trap towns.

Sadly the semi-alternative paper’s editors seems to be sympathetic to towns who enjoy the benefits of “taxation by citation.” The author (Anthony Sanders of the Institute for Justice) does not, coinng yet another meme, ending the article with this: “Lawmakers should incentivize agencies to serve and protect — not to ticket to collect.”

The article concentrates on vehicle violations, but also mentions code enforcement and the vast revenues collected from these. (TPOL staff has somewhat more than wanted experience with such schemes by cities and towns.)

This kind of corruption and “legal” theft is popularly thought to be most common in the South but exist in every State.

What else?

We can look at the entire fraudulent system of property taxes. Unlike the theft of sales taxes and income taxes, property taxes are stolen from landowners based on very complex and sometimes highly subjective rules. No simple “costs x and you pay x percent” but “accessed” and “appraised” value based on dozens or hundreds of factors by accessors and other local government boards and officials. Such a system is ripe for corruption and rife with it: add to it the politics of what would normally be called “kickbacks” and “bribes” and the system is disgusting.

Interesting, but apparently no one even tries to estimate how much property tax is stolen from the landowners (and indirectly, those who rent and lease) in these Fifty States. More than 30% of local and State government income comes for what is in essence an extorted rental fee paid on property that you supposedly own. Don’t pay? Unless you are a border jumper, politically connected or just a squatter, you can figure that your property will be stolen in one to three years.

At least the fedgov doesn’t collect property taxes – indeed, it pays a form of property tax on large amounts of federal land called PILT (Payments in Lieu of Taxes).

Want more?

Consider the vast array of fees and fines and levies that virtually every community suffers. Often from a multitude (expanding constantly) of gov’ment agencies and their officials and employees. (Something that Americans formally complained about starting back in 1776 – King George III is soooo envious!)

Many (perhaps most) local governments own and operate (directly or by contractors) utilities systems: water, wastewater, storm water, and sometimes electricity, communications, and natural gas services). In addition to the actual cost of providing X gallons or Y kilowatt-hours and maintenance and operating costs of delivering it to you, there are fees. And taxes, and taxes on fees, and surcharges and about every other way of squeezing money out. Most of which seems to be another form of corruption and “equalizing” the “burden” of something. We are taxed on cellphones to pay for “commodity” cell phones to poor people – and to “essential” industries and services. Every time we make a change or improvement to property, we pay fees and taxes for permission to do so. Even if it is replacing a roof destroyed by hail or damage due to criminal actions – including that bullet from police shooting up our (wrongly identified) neighbor. And for every tax and fee and surcharge? There are a dozen individuals and companies and other entities with their hand out. Or in our pocket.

And that is just the money side of it: It used to be in some places, the cost of getting approval – as far as favors and bribes and such – was printed out once upon a time. With phone cameras and internet, most of that is done with a bit more finesse. But the schedules still exist: you want a zoning change? You “voluntarily” give up the right to do certain things with your property. You give up the right to be secure in your home. You have to plant a certain number of trees. You have to have Z square feet of grass. All of which can often be summarized in dollars and cents of course.

We are just touching the very thin (and scummy) film on top of the murky waters of local government. The entire existence of the tens of thousands of local governments: districts, towns, cities, municipalities, counties, parishes, townships, etc. seems to be designed to promote corruption and encourage and expedite theft.

And we can talk about who reaps the benefits of corruption and theft. It isn’t just the bureaucrats and jack-booted thugs or elected officials. And not just the officially poor underclass. too many are actually businesses that seem to be legitimate. But that is another story.

https://www.wptv.com/is-temu-safe-lawsuit-claims-app-hacks-literally-everything

Parasites behave that way.

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Source: https://freedombunker.com/2024/02/23/theft-and-corruption-in-american-local-governments/