Libertarian ping! Click here to get added or here to be removed or post a message here!
(View past Libertarian pings here)
Posted on 05/23/2009 4:46:02 PM PDT by decimon
FAYETTEVILLE, Ohio -- A broken road reflector cost Paul Holden the price a new tire, and now it could cost him his home.
That's the threat from the Ohio Attorney General if Holden doesn't pay another $24.66 the state says it spent investigating his claim for the flat tire.
>
Then more bills started coming from the state. The first was for an additional $22.00 for the state's investigation. Ohio officials were even charging Holden more than $6.00 in postage for letters they sent to him, including the bills.
Each subsequent bill added more fees, and a few cents in interest. Holden decided not to pay the bills because he'd figured -- as the victim -- he'd already paid enough.
>
(Excerpt) Read more at wcpo.com ...
The use of steel framed reflectors in a state that gets snow (and presumably salts the roads) is just plain stupid... snow plows will dislodge them or cut sharp edges on them, or rust will break up the pavement and allow them to come free... I can’t see using anything but all plastic reflectors and embedding them in grooves in the pavement that would keep them below grade and safe from snowplows.
In Indiana I see more liscense plates for Ohio every day.
A friend of mine in high school died the last day of school before Christmas break, after hitting a freak ice patch (no warnings, temps not even below freezing, no precipitation) and sliding into the very end of a guardrail, which entered the car and fatally injured her. I just remember everyone stopping and trying to help, her screaming for her mother, and seeing the presents scattered all over the side of the road.
The state of NC billed her father for the guardrail.
Many years ago a magazine did a “study” of the possible differences between West Coast and East Coast drivers.
On a freeway between San Francisco and Sacramento (California) a sedan, parked on the shoulder, was left with its hood up. Same scenario on an expressway somewhere in New Jersey on a route into New York City.
Within 24 hours the vehicle parked on the expressway in New Jersey was stripped. In the first instance, video showed a middle aged man doing the deed stripping parts while a young boy stood watch for the cops!
Meantime, out on the West Coast the sedan parked on the freeway between San Francisco and Sacramento (this is an agricultural area, folks!) only one person stopped and approached the vehicle. That man, wearing a cowboy-style hat, got out of a pick-up truck in the rain and lowered the hood of the parked vehicle.
After a week of videao taping the two vehicles were towed and examined. The one in New Jersey was essentially stripped of most easy-to-carry parts including tires, while the California sedan wasn’t tampered with except for the lowered front hood.
Says volumes about the two states, doesn’t it?
This was in Ohio...what does anyone expect??
You said it. The reason we’re in such a state is because there’s never been any real difference in a Democrap and a Republican. As one critical example, consider what the IRS has done for all these decades, with the tacit approval of the GOP.
Cold, mindless bureaucracy.
I’m sorry about your friend. Your posts points out something I was already thinking: It’s not just Ohio. Stupidity is part of bureaucracy, and there’s nothing anybody can do to change that, ever. Which is why the best government is always the smallest government possible.
Obviously it’s something of a form letter for collections that the state uses containing boilerplate language about the lengths they can go to obtain payment. Ridiculous and offensive, but not much else.
Unless it's much else. Once the bureaucratic wheels start turning...
What if he couldn't register his vehicle or renew his driver's license without first paying all the state says is due? And how much would be due after some time period?
LOL, yep, another victim. America is a nation full of victims now, and hardly a country worth defending anymore.
Not at all.
Park one car in the South Bronx and the other in South Central LA and have a stopwatch handy.
It could be the states, but most likely it is the difference between a rural and an urban expressway.
Unless it’s much else. Once the bureaucratic wheels start turning...
“Brazil”
Now I have that tune in my head. At least 'Thailand' doesn't have a theme song.
>”...consider what the IRS has done for all these decades, with the tacit approval of the GOP.”
-exactly.
-Republicans aren’t blameless for the problem of a mindless, heartless, bloated bureacracy.
Ovaltine! LOL!
From the article:
“...We contacted both the Ohio Attorney General’s office, and the Ohio Department of Transportation, but neither has responded to our requests for comment.”
-which sounds like the typical bureacratic resoponse.
The whole story sounds entirely accurate to me.
Good catch you nut! LOL!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.