“Last Week: Tonight” host John Oliver on Sunday dug up enough material for an entire monologue about how local police are able to “bleed you dry” on municipal violations and tickets.
Take it from Attorney General Eric Holder, who picked a case from the recent Justice Department report on institutional racism in Ferguson, Mo.
Holder cited an incident from 2007, in which a woman was originally charged $152 for two parking tickets. Through an explosion of fines and fees, the charge eventually ballooned into over $1,000, only half of which she’s been able to pay.
“Even people stocking hotel mini bars are thinking, ‘that markup seems a little high,'” Oliver said to applause from his audience. “Just settle down.”
A study of the area surrounding Ferguson found that eight towns relied on this kind of thing for a large amount of revenue—one township earned 66 percent of its funds from fines and fees.
“When that much of your budget comes from fines, you’re actually rooting for people to break the law!” Oliver said. “Listen everyone, we’re gonna have to close the library, unless someone urinates up that wall and the rest of us start driving like maniacs.”
Ultimately, Oliver pointed out that the poor bear the brunt of this cycle.
“Not only should municipalities not be balancing their books on the backs of some of their most vulnerable citizens,” he said, “but we cannot have a system that where committing an minor violation can end up putting you in, and I’m going to a legal term of art here: the f*ckbarrel.”
Watch the clip, courtesy of HBO:
What on earth would our Founding Fathers say about today’s American justice system?
Shut Down the FuckBarrel!!
This has been a big problem in GA. They were extending cases by putting them on hold when people didnt pay…extending probation until the GA Supreme Court last year said they couldn’t do that any longer, and they had to release thousands of people in jail. Its a really sick thing that these governments do. Where are the liberty loving TP members coming to protest for these people…crickets…
Chicago, too, between the traffic cameras and the boot, really bleeds its poor dry. I think we should have fines predicated on a person’s income, like they do in Finland. As it is, fines are an egregiously regressive tax.
Thanks, John Oliver, for this piece.
This situation is horrible. My daughter ended up paying nearly 1000.00 to L.A. for draining a coke can on the sidewalk before disposing of it while on vacation. (80.00 ticket jacked up for failing to appear. She was on vacation). Spend one day in a local court and it will break your heart what is going on in America on a daily basis.
Over the last 3 decades, it’s become increasingly obvious that there is a concerted effort to criminalize poverty. This insanity will only get worse. The truly awful thing is, neither the Executive, Legislative or Judicial branches of our government will reverse this trend.