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Monrovians Unite! Hopefully, no one will need this. If you do, wouldn't you prefer to have all the paperwork done before you head to the courthouse?
Friday, November 26, 2010
Friday, January 29, 2010
Eliminating Free Parking is Discriminatory Against the Poor
Monrovians Unite!
In today's Los Angeles Times (January 29, 2010), it is revealed that the Democratic Legislature in Sacramento has decided that there is too much traffic and pollution and so they want to stop poor people from driving!
Get it. There's just too much traffic, so we want to raise the price of owning a car, of driving it, of parking it so that certain people will be squeezed out and will take the bus, so those who can afford it won't have to fight for a parking spot. Who is it that will be squeezed out? Those who cannot afford to pay the price imposed by the new government regulations.
And what groups are most likely to be affected? The poor, and those not well connected.
Next thing you know, those who are politically connected will get some kind of government sticker allowing only them to park for free or at reduced rates. This will allow the Democratic controlled Legislature to say that they are "compassionate" and really care for the people who get the little green stickers - but only if the Legislature approves of you, so you better be good.
To encourage cities to go along with this plan to keep California's poor from exercising the same freedom that everyone else enjoys, the City Government will get a bribe - just the way that Nebraska and Louisiana received bribes if they went along with the health care bill. Brownie points for all kinds of government grants, more money for paid parking lots.
Too much congestion and pollution caused by those poor people. I don't see the fat cat Legislator that introduced the bill volunteering to give up his car because he's causing so much congestion and pollution. What arrogance to assume that the Legislature should determine who is worthy of driving a vehicle and who isn't. As usual, its easy to be politically correct when someone else is paying the bill - in this case the poor who are squeezed out of the parking place and into the bus, or who are forced to walk.
But wait, it gets even more absurd. Did you notice what the incentive is to get the city governments to impose parking fees - MORE MONEY TO BUILD PARKING STRUCTURES! So let's get this right. We're going to raise prices for parking (i.e., tax the people) to eliminate the problem caused by having too much parking - too many poor people causing "congestion and pollution" by driving their cars. To encourage the local government to do this, we're going to give them more money to build even more parking structures! This is idiocy, is it not?
Free parking is paid for by everyone in the community, whereas those squeezed out by paid parking are most likely to be THE POOR. Just another regressive policy that hurts the poor masquerading as "progressive" environmental policy - with the end result that we have even more government subsidized parking, more government control over how we use our freedom to travel, and less money in our pocket. If the problems caused by having parking available exceeds the value of the convenience of inexpensive parking, why are we going to build even more parking structures?
It isn't free parking that "causes congestion and greenhouse gas emission" - its the use of the automobile. I guess the Legislature thinks that congestion and greenhouse gases are perfectly acceptable so long as the poor pay even more taxes and everyone pays more for parking.
The question is, is the California Senate stupid or power hungry, or both, or did they just forget to read the bill?
Let's hope that the Monrovia City Manager and City Council don't take the bait and eliminate our free parking in order to get brownie points for grants for paid parking from the State of California.
In today's Los Angeles Times (January 29, 2010), it is revealed that the Democratic Legislature in Sacramento has decided that there is too much traffic and pollution and so they want to stop poor people from driving!
State lawmakers are taking aim at what some of them see as a menace to California's environment: free parking.
There is too much of it, the legislators say, and it encourages people to drive instead of taking the bus, walking or riding a bike. All that motoring is contributing to traffic jams and pollution, according to state Sen. Alan Lowenthal (D-Long Beach), and on Thursday he won Senate approval of a proposal he hopes will prompt cities and businesses to reduce the availability of free parking.
"Free parking has significant social, economic and environmental costs," Lowenthal said. "It increases congestion and greenhouse gas emissions."
Republicans opposed the measure, saying the Legislature should not be meddling in how much people pay to park.
"If local governments want to entice people to shop or do business in a particular area, that is entirely their business. Not the state's," said Sen. Tom Harman (R-Huntington Beach).
The bill, supported by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and the Sierra Club, provides financial incentives for cities and counties to stop providing free parking on the street and at government offices and to reduce the amount they require businesses to provide.
Cities that take such action could get more state money for parking garages and transit programs and bonus points in competing for state grants.
When a store provides free parking, the cost to maintain, clean, insure, secure and light the parking lot is passed on to shoppers in higher prices for goods, said Justin Horner, an analyst with the NRDC. Free street parking is paid for by the entire community in the form of higher taxes, he said.
Lowenthal said that when businesses pay for their employees' parking, more of them drive to work.
"It's nice that we've been treated to this luxury," Lowenthal said. "The problem with free parking is it's not free."
Get it. There's just too much traffic, so we want to raise the price of owning a car, of driving it, of parking it so that certain people will be squeezed out and will take the bus, so those who can afford it won't have to fight for a parking spot. Who is it that will be squeezed out? Those who cannot afford to pay the price imposed by the new government regulations.
And what groups are most likely to be affected? The poor, and those not well connected.
Next thing you know, those who are politically connected will get some kind of government sticker allowing only them to park for free or at reduced rates. This will allow the Democratic controlled Legislature to say that they are "compassionate" and really care for the people who get the little green stickers - but only if the Legislature approves of you, so you better be good.
To encourage cities to go along with this plan to keep California's poor from exercising the same freedom that everyone else enjoys, the City Government will get a bribe - just the way that Nebraska and Louisiana received bribes if they went along with the health care bill. Brownie points for all kinds of government grants, more money for paid parking lots.
Too much congestion and pollution caused by those poor people. I don't see the fat cat Legislator that introduced the bill volunteering to give up his car because he's causing so much congestion and pollution. What arrogance to assume that the Legislature should determine who is worthy of driving a vehicle and who isn't. As usual, its easy to be politically correct when someone else is paying the bill - in this case the poor who are squeezed out of the parking place and into the bus, or who are forced to walk.
But wait, it gets even more absurd. Did you notice what the incentive is to get the city governments to impose parking fees - MORE MONEY TO BUILD PARKING STRUCTURES! So let's get this right. We're going to raise prices for parking (i.e., tax the people) to eliminate the problem caused by having too much parking - too many poor people causing "congestion and pollution" by driving their cars. To encourage the local government to do this, we're going to give them more money to build even more parking structures! This is idiocy, is it not?
Free parking is paid for by everyone in the community, whereas those squeezed out by paid parking are most likely to be THE POOR. Just another regressive policy that hurts the poor masquerading as "progressive" environmental policy - with the end result that we have even more government subsidized parking, more government control over how we use our freedom to travel, and less money in our pocket. If the problems caused by having parking available exceeds the value of the convenience of inexpensive parking, why are we going to build even more parking structures?
It isn't free parking that "causes congestion and greenhouse gas emission" - its the use of the automobile. I guess the Legislature thinks that congestion and greenhouse gases are perfectly acceptable so long as the poor pay even more taxes and everyone pays more for parking.
The question is, is the California Senate stupid or power hungry, or both, or did they just forget to read the bill?
Let's hope that the Monrovia City Manager and City Council don't take the bait and eliminate our free parking in order to get brownie points for grants for paid parking from the State of California.
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