Your Choices for Managing Your LLC - Member or Manager

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The Washington Examiner reports on the new price of tickets in the district:

Mayor Adrian Fenty approved increasing 71 traffic fines as wells as raising various business fees as part of an effort to balance the city's budget. The increases are projected to generate about $7 million this fiscal year, which ends in September.

D.C. Traffic Fines:

Infraction	Old fine	New fine
Speeding 11 to 15 mph	$50	$125
Speeding 16 to 20 mph	$100	$150
Speeding 21 to 25 mph	$150	$200
Speeding over 25 mph	$200	$250
Driving too slow	$15	$50
Broken speedometer	$25	$75
No running lights	$25	$75
Failure to yield	$25	$100
Violating "No turn on red" signs	$50	$100
Operating with high beams on	$25	$75
Rolling right turn at red light	$50	$100
Coasting	$15	$75
Interfering with traffic when pulling from curb	$25	$100
Not having windshield wipers	$25	$75
Failing to secure loads	$50	$250
Passing a stopped school bus that has lights flashing	$50	$50

It is a mistake to increase the cost of tickets to raise more revenue.  And while I'm sure Fenty would deny that this is what is happening, I doubt anyone in D.C. would believe him.  Governments are not meant to raise revenue, they are meant to enforce laws.  If citizens begin to see laws as arbitrary—like paying $250 instead of $50 for failing to tie a red flag to an oversized load—then they lose trust and respect for law enforcement.  Not to mention we get bad laws.  One might argue that you don't have to pay the ticket if you abide by the law (or if you're D.C. Councilman Harry Thomas).  But then why not make the fines in the thousands?  If the government were to enforce every law it would cripple society. There should be proportionality when determining the amount of fines.  And government budgets should not be in the equation.

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Sen. Schumer Proposes Tax on Outsourced Call Centers

Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has proposed a federal excise tax on customer service operations that use non-U.S. call centers. The AP article describes how it would work:

The [tax] would be 25 cents for calls transferred to foreign countries. There would be no [tax] for a domestic call center. Companies would have to report quarterly their total customer service calls received and the number relayed overseas.

"If we want to put a stop to the outsourcing of American jobs, then we need to provide incentives for American companies to keep American jobs here," Schumer said last week. The New York Democrat said the excise tax would "also provide a reason for companies that have already outsourced jobs to bring them back."

In a survey of American economists in 2006, Robert Whaples found nearly 90 percent agreed the U.S. should eliminate remaining protectionist tariffs and trade barriers, like the new one Schumer is proposing, that there are lower costs and a net gain from free trade. Most also agreed the U.S. should not restrict American employers from outsourcing work to foreign countries.[...]

The measure would also require telling U.S. customers that the call is being transferred and to which country.

Excise taxes are sometimes imposed on "bad" behaviors that politicians want to discourage, but there can be differences of opinion on what's good and bad.

(Hat tip: Hit & Run)

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