‘Big Brother is watching you’

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1:42 PM Wednesday, November 4, 2009

... Several years ago, Middletown was facing a financial shortage. So what did they do to make it easier on the citizens to shop downtown? They closed all the free parking lots so you had to use metered parking. Really made you feel welcome.

Now that times are as bad as they’ve been since the Great Depression, what’s their answer? Sell their soul to the red-light camera devil, collect 20 percent of the fine for the city and send 80 percent of the fine away — gone forever. That was their deal with the first camera company.

Now, with a new company, it’s 55 percent (to the) city, 45 percent (to the) camera company; and then 70 percent city and 30 percent camera company, after the first 150 citations. Still, the red-light “cash trap” hasn’t lowered the (number of ) accidents; it just records them. ...

It’s amazing to me that no one or no organization has filed a discrimination suit already. One also has to wonder if the timing is set to maximize the number of infractions.

It’s strictly a money-making scheme foisted on the citizens (who are) already stretched to and beyond their means.

Middletown, if you insist on having them and want them to be an effective deterrent and not a “cash trap,” try putting a continuous flashing yellow light at eye level that says, “Big brother is watching you.” ...

Orville Wright

Franklin

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