Atlanta is thinking of adding a $15 charge to speeding fines in order to cover the cost of increasing petrol prices and their consumption by council vehicles.
The nature of government taxation has been changing over the past decade or so. Rather than direct taxes, a new form of revenue raising has appeared where 'bad people' or politically indefensible people are having excess fees tacked on to them in order for governments to raise revenue.
A good recent, and blatant, example of this process was Virginia tacking on extra fees to speeding fines for out of state drivers, not Virginia drivers. It was quickly deemed unconstitutional under the 14th Amendment, however, it shows that the goal of the policy was to raise revenue from 'bad people' without a political cost; ie tacking the fees on to Virginia voters. (more)
How do you know when a law is unreasonable and unjust? When an additional fine is added on to whatever punishment a judge determines in a court; when the law is made for the purposes of short-term revenue collection; when the fine is so hefty that it has to be repaid in installments; and when the initial enforcement of the infringement is arbitrary and situational. (more)
