Reply to My story: Accused of Residency Fraud

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Reply to "My story: Accused of Residency Fraud"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=jsteele][quote=Anonymous]You all are simply wrong about tolerance for rule-breaking in DC:  for example, the City Council passed a law that decriminalizes fare-jumping on the Metro.  The Mayor vetoed the measure, but a super-majority will likely override her veto.  Their reason?  The criminal law is racist because it disproportionately affects african-american persons.  Therefore, the perps should be allowed to ride the Metro for free whenever they want.  This reasoning is a perfect comparator to the City's historic aversion to prosecuting residency fraud.  If you live in the City, this kind of reasoning is just one of the things that you are going to have to accept.[/quote]

The Council proposal to decriminalize fare-jumping would not result in allowing free Metro rides. Rather, fare-jumping would still be subject to fines, much like parking tickets. How would you feel about the Council moving in the other direction and criminalizing parking and driving violations?  Could you imagine being taken to court and becoming part of the criminal justice system because you parked for two hours in a one hour spot? Yet, the cost of that extra hour is not that much different than a short Metro ride. If you are going to criticize a Council bill, you might take the trouble to at least understand it.

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The two types of violations are extremely different.  A person must very much must INTEND to jump a Metro fare, in every case this happens.  Also, as the Mayor described on Kojo's show (I listened, yo), the facts are that other more serious crimes often accompany fare-jumping.  In contrast, a parking violation is...really, are you serious, Jeff?  Not comparable, in terms of intent as well as effect on the community of users of the public good.  Also, the Mayor mentioned ways to revise the fare-jumping legislation that would create more of a deterrent than simple decriminalization, such as being required to report to court in order to plead your case.  But the majority of the DC Council seems unwilling to consider more reasonable legislation than simply erasing if, for political reasons which are subject to debate.

But back to the main point:  I think the attitude behind seeking to erase the fare-jumping criminal law is very similar to the attitude among many on this forum to non-prosecution of residency fraud.  This attitude is worthy of discussing, imo.[/quote]

How are stealing a parking spot and stealing a Metro fare extremely different?  There is construction on my street and my street is zoned for resident only parking.  The out of state workers park in the resident-only spots every day.  They drive their cars, see the signs that prohibit them from parking, and park there anyway.  There is clear intent to steal parking there.  (And yes, they could pay for parking by getting a construction permit to park vehicles, so the city loses out on money by them not getting that permit).  So basically people who disagree with the city council's vote think that it is OK for a Maryland driver to park for free against the law but not for a citizen to ride for free by stealing a metro ride.

And yes, the parking spaces absolutely have value, just like a metro ride.  If all the streets in the city had no parking then the parking lanes could be used for wider sidewalks, parklets etc.  [/quote]

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