Academic

A WALL STREET JOURNAL EDITORIAL ON REVENUE CAMERAS: The War On Short Yellows. ?We still live in a ?

By Glenn Reynolds

A WALL STREET JOURNAL EDITORIAL ON REVENUE CAMERAS: The War On Short Yellows. “We still live in a democracy. One Arizona sheriff recently proved you could get elected by opposing speed cameras. Meanwhile, the state legislature is considering bills to dismantle the system created by Gov. Janet Napolitano when she faced a gaping budget deficit, before she escaped to the Obama Department of Homeland Security. Petitioners in Arizona are also gathering signatures to put the question directly before voters — speed cameras have never won when submitted to voters. . . . Why is this important? Because Arizona, specifically Scottsdale, is home to the two biggest companies, American Traffic Solutions and Redflex Traffic Systems, in the incestuous world of promoting and operating traffic cameras for revenue-hungry governments. Laid to rest long ago should have been the pretense that the goal is ’safety,’ not chasing cash. New York State, sinking under budget shortfalls, last week authorized a batch of new red-light cameras around the state. A recent investigation by the Detroit News showed that even conventional ticket-writing is driven by revenue needs.”

Full post as published by Instapundit.com on April 17, 2009 (boomark / email).