Tangentially, I've often wondered how cost effective parking enforcement is. If Keene got rid of one windshield wiper litterer, would the loss of fines be offset by the reduction in workforce (and any additional overhead associated with enforcement)? I've never really tried running numbers on that. I have no idea how it balances out (not that that's the point, but still.)
Of course, Keene has the lovely problem of running a government large enough to handle the student population, but nothing for said gov't to do during the summer
I have never seen anything that led me to believe local government is any more capable of rational budgetary analysis than fed.gov; the differences are only a matter of scale (and the lack of local access to a printing press.)
Oh, absolutely agreed. If parking nannyism were actually profitable, it'd be a total blind-squirrel-finds-nut thing. And the economics is not the relevant issue anyhow. It's just something I get curious about.
I like the thought of feeding the meters for people, but these little wanna-be anarchists go out of their way to taunt and harass the city meter folks, which is, I suspect, their only real motivation for parting with the loose change. They're benefiting from a story that makes them look like altruists but they have numerous videos posted where they show themselves getting right up in the meter people's faces and acting like real jackholes. If I lived there and they acted like that towards me, I'd lay one out and proudly take the misdemeanor rap for it.
Funny. I used to do this when I was young and living in a town with parking meters. Back then it was just a benevolent little prank on the hated Meter Maids (who were mostly guys, but got called meter maids anyway because, well, hated.)
Now it's a vile revolutionary act, striking at the very root of a city's fiscal health. Is Keene really that fragile? Bit of Streisand Effect going on here...
Y'all are dangerously close to setting me off on one of my rants about how speed limits and their enforcement are much more about revenue than they are about driver safety.
It has NOTHING to do about safety! If they were concerned about safety, there would be no ticket writing at all. They wouldn't even be parking their patrol units in view of the road. All that bullshit CAUSES accidents, with the attendant traffic flow problems, injuries, and deaths. Their own collected data tells them this is true. It is ALL about revenue collection, with a side helping of inflating the police employment rolls and a bit of power tripping.
Tangentially, I've often wondered how cost effective parking enforcement is. If Keene got rid of one windshield wiper litterer, would the loss of fines be offset by the reduction in workforce (and any additional overhead associated with enforcement)? I've never really tried running numbers on that. I have no idea how it balances out (not that that's the point, but still.)
ReplyDeleteOf course, Keene has the lovely problem of running a government large enough to handle the student population, but nothing for said gov't to do during the summer
I have never seen anything that led me to believe local government is any more capable of rational budgetary analysis than fed.gov; the differences are only a matter of scale (and the lack of local access to a printing press.)
ReplyDeleteOh, absolutely agreed. If parking nannyism were actually profitable, it'd be a total blind-squirrel-finds-nut thing. And the economics is not the relevant issue anyhow. It's just something I get curious about.
ReplyDeleteI like the thought of feeding the meters for people, but these little wanna-be anarchists go out of their way to taunt and harass the city meter folks, which is, I suspect, their only real motivation for parting with the loose change. They're benefiting from a story that makes them look like altruists but they have numerous videos posted where they show themselves getting right up in the meter people's faces and acting like real jackholes. If I lived there and they acted like that towards me, I'd lay one out and proudly take the misdemeanor rap for it.
ReplyDeleteFunny. I used to do this when I was young and living in a town with parking meters. Back then it was just a benevolent little prank on the hated Meter Maids (who were mostly guys, but got called meter maids anyway because, well, hated.)
ReplyDeleteNow it's a vile revolutionary act, striking at the very root of a city's fiscal health. Is Keene really that fragile? Bit of Streisand Effect going on here...
Y'all are dangerously close to setting me off on one of my rants about how speed limits and their enforcement are much more about revenue than they are about driver safety.
ReplyDeleteParking Police participate in punishing patrolling patriots, Children and Minorities hardest hit.
ReplyDelete@Scott J:
ReplyDeleteIt has NOTHING to do about safety! If they were concerned about safety, there would be no ticket writing at all. They wouldn't even be parking their patrol units in view of the road. All that bullshit CAUSES accidents, with the attendant traffic flow problems, injuries, and deaths. Their own collected data tells them this is true. It is ALL about revenue collection, with a side helping of inflating the police employment rolls and a bit of power tripping.