Trending
Speed cameras make government a lot of money, but this is actually a terrible way to raise revenue.
With a tax, the government directly gets that money; they don't have to share it with anybody. 100% of that money goes to the government for the purposes that they are taxing for.
With speed cameras, you are taking a whole bunch of money out of the economy, but the benefit doesn't accrue to the people. It goes to the private company, to operating costs and profits. Even though the government is making a lot of money, they are getting a lot less than they are pulling out of the economy. It's a bad way to generate revenue.
Politicians just want an excuse not to raise taxes. Politicians can say, "We're getting money from all these really bad drivers who won't follow the law!" So now, politicians can demagogue on the issue and pretend that they are actually doing something that's improving safety, when in fact they are just basically harming the economy.
The Federal Reserve calculates the "Velocity of Money" at six times per year. How many thousands of dollars will be sent to the out-of-state camera company in a year, multiply that by six, and that's how much economic activity will take place in other states with Pennsylvania's speed camera program – NOT in Pennsylvania because the money will be gone. Speed cameras will do serious economic damage to Pennsylvania's businesses, their employees and ultimately hurt the state's tax base.
TOM McCAREY
Berwyn
Submitted by Virtual Newsroom