Low level crimes like jaywalking and loitering are used by government to get people into their system and generate revenue. Go to any courthouse in any town and you’ll see dozens perhaps hundreds of people there for very minor infractions. People who can afford to pay the fine are often not charged to begin with. We don’t hear of people in wealthy neighborhoods being charged with jaywalking. Even if they were, they could easily pay the fee.

Poorer people are charged with these low end crimes and then need to spend the day waiting around at court. It’s very common for court dates to be changed, moved, extended and defendants told to come back a different day. People trying to find gainful employment or who don’t own vehicles are more likely to miss a court date. Once fines are levied, then people need to be able to afford to pay them. For some people a $100 fine is a significant financial burden and needs to be paid over time. Fines can be combined with court costs, interest and other expenses and get into the thousands of dollars.

If they miss a payment or can’t afford it then more fines are piled on or they are eventually placed in jail. The ultimate goal is not to prevent the crime of jaywalking to protect the public good but to generate revenue and ultimately have people placed in jail to generate more revenue for private prison companies.

Poor people and rich people have something in common: both are seen as milk cows of revenue for politicians.

If this makes you uncomfortable, don’t support big government, government programs and expansion.