Posted on 10/12/2016 11:32:42 AM PDT by Olog-hai
Criminal laws and regulations in the United States have increased to absurd proportions in the past few decades, posing a growing threat to our constitutional liberties.
There are nearly 5,000 criminal laws and an estimated 300,000 or more criminal regulations at the federal level alone. In fact, there are so many possible criminal offenses that Harvey Silverglate, a civil liberties attorney, contends the average American probably commits at least three felonies a day, most without knowing it.
In April, the perils of overcriminalization were on full display when Brian Everidge traveled to Michigan with more than 10,000 bottles and cans, seeking to capitalize on Michigan’s generous 10 cents-per-bottle refund program. He stood to make $1,000.
Everidge was pulled over for speeding and found himself facing a $5,000 fine and up to five years in prison after the state trooper discovered his cargo. As it turned out, transporting more than 10,000 bottles into Michigan with the intent to collect a deposit is a felony. …
(Excerpt) Read more at dailysignal.com ...
Were after power and we mean it. You fellows were pikers, but we know the real trick, and you'd better get wise to it.
There's no way to rule innocent men. The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren't enough criminals, one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws.
Who wants a nation of law-abiding citizens? What's there it that for anyone?
But just pass the kind of laws that can neither be observed nor enforced nor objectively interpreted,and you create a nation of lawbreakers, and then you cash in.
Now that's the system, Mr. Rearden, that's the game, and once you understand it, you'll be much easier to deal with.
Atlas Shrugged
I don’t even bother recycling, though my wife has a fetish about it. It’s a pain in the ass, washing out containers and removing plastic bits and labels.
I refuse. Recycling is a scam.
Okay....as much as I hate government overreach, this article is a gross misrepresentation.
I lived in Michigan. They charge a ten cent DEPOSIT on each bottle or can sold. When you return them you are reclaiming your DEPOSIT. By bringing in a bunch of cans from out of state you are stealing money that is owed to customers who bought those products.
This has always been illegal in Michigan, and has absolutely nothing to do with “improper recycling”.
True of me as well . . . I hate recycling! But my wife who totally hates 0bama loves to recycle. She is constantly separating garbage into the different recycling piles - but then she IS OCD!
I repaired (not replaced) a 36 year old deck this spring by just replacing the posts and deck boards and reinforcing the old joists with metal plates. Deck is about 2 feet off the ground. Now remember, the rest the original structure was untouched and again a repair. I will be receiving “suggestions” to bring it up to present code. (steaming)
I read that several years ago, a Congressional committee asked the DOJ for a list of regulations that required jail time. (Regulations, not laws.) Such regulations would include a prison sentence for catching too many red-fish or fish out of season, or disturbing tortoise eggs or a land tortoise. The tortoise regulation penalty in Florida, for example, is one year in jail and a $10,000 fine. This penalty would even include moving them out of the road and onto the verge.
The DOJ responded that there were hundreds of thousands of such regulations and that they occurred at every level of government, city, county, state, etc. There was no practical way to list them or count them.
Fines are enforced by taking your driver’s license until you pay. In Florida there is a $500 license reinstatement fee. I read in California, the only state I could find a number for, that 1.3 million driver’s licenses have been revoked for failing to pay a fine.
Why is it a felony? Why such a draconian penalty?
The fraud is charging the 10¢ so-called “deposit” in the first place. That is where the stealing occurs. Most people in Michigan are not bothered if someone comes in from out of state and collects a bit of revenue that way; that’s actually industrious.
And the second half of the article title focuses on “overcriminalization”. Thus, it is not wrong to call Michigan’s law legislation on “improper recycling”, because they are defining “proper recycling” in a certain manner.
Yep. I will be so relieved to get rid of my house in town, to get away from those zoning regulators and the corrupt city council etc.
From what I have read here on FR in articles linked is that the only one which is economically worth it is aluminum cans. All the other stuff costs more than they get for it.
BTW: it still hasn't started yet.
What annoys me is stores not taking back bottles that were not brands they carry.
They get reimbursed for the bottles anyway.
Meh. I burn my paper and plastic, throw the food scraps in a compost pile, and dump the glass and metal in public trash cans. I pay county income tax in the county in which I work (but don’t live). I figure I might as well get SOMETHING out of it.
I have not paid for garbage service for over 5 years.
On a side note, as soon as I saw this guy was taking cans to a state where they pay you more, the first thing I thought was, “isn’t that illegal?”
The reason is simple: They are paying you back what you paid when you bought the soda. If you bring the cans from out of state, they are paying you “back” something you never paid. So the law protects them from “big” scammers, which this guy was.
Watch the Penn and Teller Bullsh** episode on Recycling. It will cure your wife.
Beat me to it. I see this as a legitimate bust. I will add that unless the guy is an idiot, he knew exactly what he was doing. And if he IS an idiot, well, as John Wayne said, “Life is Hard. It’s harder if you’re stupid.”
Just as we are bothered by people dumping their trash along our highways.
That was the reason for the deposit, because people are slobs. It worked. When you compare the roadsides in Michigan to the roadsides in say, Pennsylvania, you find they are much cleaner.
-PJ
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