Unintended Consequences
The population of the United States now stands at about
300 million, including all those illegal immigrants out there. The
population of the world stands at about 6 billion. Thus, we have
about 2% of the world's total population.
However, on a per-capita basis, we have almost 7 people in prison for
every person in prison in some other country. Yes, there are still
lots more people in prison elsewhere, but you stand seven times
the chance of going to prison in the US than in other countries...all
other countries.
It's not for nothing that we have spent our entire lives listening to
government bureaucrats complaining about prison overcrowding and
underfunding. It's true, even though we have thrown money at the
problem faster than most other aspects of society.
"Not me," you might say. "I toe the line and pay my
taxes and obey the laws." Probably true, too. Problem
is that government has mushroomed in the past sixty years and
legislation has kept pace. There are whole segments of the
American population now in jail for "crimes" that didn't exist
even a few years ago.
Don't believe me? Brian and Ruth Christine do - they were just
sentenced to 12 and 7 years, respectively, for crimes they were forced
to commit by the rogue Oregon SCF agency's intemperate actions (see my
archives at www.conspiracypenpal.com
). They join a host of other parents just like themselves,
targeted by government agencies that didn't even exist when I was
growing up.
And Lonny Rae ("say the N-word and go to prison," again, check
my archives) faces a jail term for hurling a racial epithet, even though
he was more than adequately provoked. The thought police are in
full swing throughout this country. Bush and Ashcroft made that
abundantly clear this past week when both suggested that Americans who
criticize the federal government might face federal charges. And
they can back their threats up since the "Patriot Act" put
teeth back into the existing sedition laws.
You think this might not happen to you tomorrow? Next week?
Next year? You are wrong. Two years ago, neither the
Christines nor Lonny Rae would have thought their current plights
possible. Today, they are believers, however, just three clients
of mine out of many and out of a huge number of others similarly
situated today throughout America.
Spank your kids? Leave a bruise and go to jail. Hurt a black
man's feelings? Go to jail. I could make a huge list of
offenses like this that weren't crimes a few years ago.
Let me show you how unintended consequences arise from government
action, resulting in folks like you and me serving time. Since we
have just seen this in action in the context of the Oregon bureaucratic
jungle (the Christines), let's use Oregon as the example, though this
occurs in every state and at every level of government, every day.
Oregon's Governor has been moaning over the state's upcoming $900
million deficit, piled upon a $300 million deficit from the last year.
No talk of cutting any programs, mind you, simply of increasing taxes
again. In particular, he is hawking another cigarette tax
increase, on the order of 50 cents per pack.
A few years back, Oregon gave cigarette taxes a healthy jolt and saw
revenues rise for a year or so, then begin a steady decline as residents
established new sources outside the state. To stanch the
"lost revenue" stream, Oregon bureaucrats added bodies to the
state agencies charged with policing such "smuggling."
They have justified these armed police state additions ever since by
proudly pointing out that they produce more in fines and increased fees
than their cost. But, not enough, alas.
What gets overlooked is the new criminals that were manufactured along
the way. People like you and me, except they smoke and are more
resourceful than Oregon law now allows. Mind you, someone in
Eugene can order all manner of products from across the country without
becoming a criminal, but not cigarettes. For that, you go to
jail...after paying some hefty fines, of course.
Unintended consequences. Oregon didn't set out to increase its
prison population. They didn't sit down in the legislature and
say, "How can we turn even more law-abiding citizens into
criminals?" They were trying to get more money and certain
citizens were trying to keep more of their own money. Result:
temporary rise in tax revenues, but a permanent new class of criminals.
That's the seamy side of regulation; there will always be those who
resist being regulated, with the result that government tracks them down
and makes examples of them.
And it's happening with all manner of governmental regulation today:
zoning, schooling, drugs, welfare, etc. Areas that saw no
government regulation whatsoever when I was a kid.
What Oregon ought to do is decrease cigarette tax revenues, which
would have the effect of increasing Oregon cigarette sales all across
the board, especially to those out of state, who would then be smuggling
cigarettes into their states. In particular, Washington just
passed a massive cigarette tax increase of its own. Let other
states criminalize their citizens. Meanwhile, Oregon could cut the
ranks of its cigarette police, cut the cost of prison population
maintenance and simultaneously see an upsurge in tax revenue due to the
increased sales. But, you won't hear talk of this sort of
approach, since only the superficial tax revenue/loss level is ever
discussed.
The results are so logical and so obvious that it is tempting to say
they are intended. But, I refuse to believe that the people in
control (that is, those not a part of the inner party, hidden hand,
whatever you want to call the NWO crowd) really want to imprison ever
larger segments of America's citizenry. They just want to
consolidate and extend their spheres of influence and power. That
takes money. If a few innocents' lives get destroyed along they
way, well, omelettes and eggs, donchaknow. Unfortunate but
unintended.
Unintended consequences.
Every day, every single day, I receive several unsolicitated letters and
emails from people around the country, imploring me to take on their
case. Usually, they are just plain folks who have been caught up
in this mind-numbing morass of government regulation, usually the
victims of some out-of-control bureaucrat or rogue agency on a power
trip. It breaks my heart to have to simply ignore their pleas, but
I can only do so much.
When I do take on a case, it is usually foredoomed because the laws have
my clients dead to rights, like the Christines. Attorney for the
Damned...I'm not really pleased with the moniker, but it often fits,
believe me.
But, every high-profile case I take results in a number of people
becoming truly outraged for the first time at what is going on in
America. They write and tell me. Their discomfort delights
me no end because I know I have played a part in moving them to
awareness and action. And there are lots of other lives that get
touched without my ever knowing it.
I take the cases I do for one reason: to wake people up to what is
going on in this country. That is also the upshot of my writings,
you may have noticed. So, even in seeing my clients go to prison,
I salvage something of a victory.
Once awakened, I realized that awakening others was my job. If you
have since been awakened, it is your job, too. Everybody can do
something. Everybody can make a difference.
Some have unique forums that provide access to large segments of the
population. Regrettably, those who use their mass media platforms
to awaken others tend to get shut down by the established order.
That's why the surviving talk show hosts seem so pedestrian. But,
the word is getting out. Truth can never be bottled up forever.
Today, it is being carried by word of mouth, by people just like
yourself.
If I have played a part in your awakening, I am pleased. Now, join
me and wake up the others. Send this and similar columns on to
those you know. Talk it up whenever the time seems appropriate.
Contribute money to PCLU if you can afford to; if not, we are still
honored to have your support.
You've always wanted a cause to really believe in. Well, this one
qualifies, because it concerns your future and that of your children.
Time is wasting. Events are accelerating. America will not
survive the coming unpleasantries in anything like the form it enjoys
today.
Unintended consequences on a global scale.
Be a part of the coming solution and help pick up the pieces when the
time comes.
New America. An idea whose time has come.
-ed
"I didn't say it would be easy. I just said it
would be the truth."
-
Morpheus
Copyright © Edgar J. Steele, 2002
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