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One of the biggest taxrs, which isn't really a tax at all is the overcriminalization in our society. A lot of municipalities main source of revenue is derived from criminal fines. This could range from a hot check fee, speed traps, misdemeanor fines of $2,000 or felony fines of $10,000. I know the arguement will be that you don't have to pay if you don't do anything wrong. How can you keep from doing anything wrong if you actually don't know what is illegal. There are over 33,000 federal criminal laws and in addition you have more state laws added to that.
Prosecutors are going out after more and more people because in the end criminal law has become an industry. The more police you have the more arrests you make, the more arrests you make the more prosecutors and defense lawyers you need, the more cases that you have the more courthouses and judges that you need, the more convictions the more jail space you need, the more jail space you need the more guards that you need.
But more importantly, the more people you charge with a crime the more money that the county makes. Picture this, which is not an uncommon occurrence. A person is charged with a felony, which he did not commit. The prosecutor knows that the facts are not good and would probably not win in court. The prosecutor offers to plead the case as a misdemeanor and a $2,000 fine, which is paid to the prosecutor's office. You would think that if a person did not commit the crime they would just take it to trial. Well if there is a chance that you would go to prison for 10 yrs if you lose, would you?
The result of this overcriminalization is that we have the highest population in prison than any country in the world. We i speak of overcriminalization I am not talking about laws against, rape, murder, robbery, battery etc. I am talking about laws that use to be civil in nature are now criminal because it is easier to collect money from someone in a criminal case than a civil case.
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