And so it should. It is a sorry reminder of the changing times, where the public is looked upon as a mere revenue source and special interests use government to extract undeserved profits from the governed.
The cynical part is the cover story, this is about safety, when ample alternatives avail themselves for that purpose, but none, perhaps, with the added revenue kicker for the city and its partners.
Intersections would be safer, and fewer side impact collisions would be likely, if the city merely further delayed the interval between red lights and green lights. Rather than one light turning green at the end of the yellow, wait longer, even after the light is red one direction, before turning it green for traffic coming from the other.
But, I know, few tickets would be issued in that scenario. The fact is this is really all about revenue, the city's and their partners.
And what wonderful partners they have chosen. American Traffic Solutions is an Arizona based corporation touting themselves as providers of traffic safety equipment. Perhaps attracted by that concern for the public, in 2008, Goldman Sachs invested heavily in the company and helped take it national; certainly in an honest effort to bring innovative safety measures to every American. That's the philosophy at Goldman Sachs.
Citizens of Bellingham, and passers through, foolish enough to frequent a downtown already plagued by the parking gestapo, will surely be pleased to contribute to the financially beleaguered masters of the universe while simultaneously paying into the police guild who will, ostensibly, have one of their own watching the cameras over coffee and donuts, and deciding if you should make a contribution to their retirement fund.
How any politician with a lick of sense would want to take ownership of such a scheme defies explanation. Perhaps it's just their being possessed by such nonsense that makes it easy for the pitchmen for the Goldman Sachs' franchise to get at the public.
But the push-back from all shades on the political spectrum, from liberals to libertarians and from Republicans and Democrats alike, has come quickly. An initiative to remove the devices is well on its way to certification. And a bipartisan bill has been filed in the legislature to keep the scam from spreading across the state.
But Bellingham's mayor, with plenty of support from the city council, pushes on. They can't seem to get the smell of money out of their noses.
For a guy I once thought had pretty good political instincts, Pike has really lost it on this one; and in an election year nonetheless. How he thinks he will win friends snatching their wallets is beyond me.
Characterizing every distracted mother misjudging intersection timing as scofflaws and public enemies is not the road to reelection.
If the mayor and the council come to their senses they'll run away from this Orwellian nightmare post-haste; at least not implement the program until some formal public support was shown for the same.
If Pike can convince the voters that this is the only way to ensure their safety, and their safety is more important than protecting them from such intrusion by Big Brother; god bless 'em!
Perhaps Franklin said it best, "They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
