Fines are not extortion, They are penalties. Is a prison sentence for extortion, extortion?
I think he's referring to selective application. Imagine extortionists being sentenced only when it's convenient to the system.
I am specifically speaking of what I said—laws that are enacted and enforced, not to promote any rational concept of public order, safety, or fairness, but specifically to trap people into breaking them, so that they may be extorted into paying fines.
Anyone who has ever lived in downtown Sacramento, in an apartment complex that doesn't offer off-street parking, would be very familiar with one clear example. There are certain times and days when you may not park on certain sides of the street. The signs announcing this cite
“street cleaning” as the reason, though, in the time I lived in that situation, I never saw any relevant street-cleaning activities. It gets tricky to keep track of where you may leave your car when, and I don't think anyone who lives there very long avoids getting an occasional parking ticket. I think that it is quite clear that the true purpose of this confusing and irrational set of parking restrictions is specifically to catch people violating them, for the purpose of fraud and extortion.
I believe that similar principles are behind many traffic regulations, especially speed limits. I'm not saying that there should be no speed limits, but I often find them to be implemented in a way that shows no clear connection to safety. I'll point out, as an example, Gerber Road, in the Sacramento area. At the east end, where it meets Excelsior road, the posted speed limit is 55 miles per hour. At that point, it's a rather rough, unlit, narrow road, poorly maintained, and as heavy as my right foot sometimes tends to get, I say that 55 is too fast for that section of road, but that's the posted speed limit. After a few miles of that, going west, it crosses Bradshaw, and becomes a much better road. The condition of the pavement is better, it's wider, better lit, and in every way built to support a higher speed, but now the speed limit drops to 50. A few miles further west, it crosses Florin-Perkins, the road condition becomes even better, but now the posted speed limit drops to 40. If the speed limits were being set according to legitimate safety concerns, then the posted speed limit would be lower at the east end, and go higher as it went further west, rather than doing the opposite. 40 would be a reasonable and rational limit for the portion that is posted at 55, and 55 would be reasonable and rational for the portion that is posted at 40.
