TYT: Ferguson Cops Using "Lifestyle Fines" To Fund City

[WhoIsNumberNone]

Recently the Justice Department investigated Ferguson, MO and found that they have drastically ramped up “lifestyle fines.” Municipal citations are up 495% since 2010. Guess which group is being hit hardest… Cenk Uygur, host of the The Young Turks, breaks it down. Tell us what you think in the comment section below.

"A small suburb of St. Louis where 95 percent of residents are black has allegedly found a new source of revenue by increasing municipal citations by 495 percent since 2010, a lawsuit claimed this week.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that the Institute for Justice’s office filed a lawsuit seeking class action status this week against the city of Pagedale.

The lawsuits accuses Pagedale of “an unprecedented governmental intrusion into the homes of its residents” for issuing tickets for things like barbecuing in the front yard, drinking beer too close to the grill and even saggy pants.

In some cases, residents said that Pagedale officials threatened to demolish their homes, even though the city admitted that the homes were only a nuisance and presented no public safety threat.”*

Read more here: https://www.rawstory.com/2015/11/st-louis-suburb-funds-itself-by-increasing-nuisance-ticketing-on-black-homes-by-495-percent-lawsuit/

[Rex]

1. That is sad, authoritarians are shitty people.

YES we have to have some around (they are useful in limited ways), but dam they are overall some of the most shitty people on earth.

[Sherman A1]

2. Ferguson is not Pagedale

they are two separate communities within St. Louis County. So the headline might need some adjustment.

[progree]

3. Fox News for sure is all over this story of massive overreaching big government intrusions

into people's private lives (starts at about 3:25)

[Enthusiast]

4. Kicked and recommended to the Max!

Well done, Cenk.

This is fucking ABSURD!