MrRodgers
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Joined: 7/30/2005
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He treated them to a whopper that is one of his hardy perennials, market-tested during the campaign: He said the U.S. murder rate is "the highest it's been in 47 years." (Not even close: The rate killings per 100,000 residents — is far below the rates in the 1970s and 1980s.) This Trump Truth (Sen. Eugene McCarthy's axiom: Anything said three times in Washington becomes a fact) distracted attention from his assertion to the sheriffs that there is "no reason" to reform law enforcement's civil forfeiture practices.
There is no reason for the sheriffs to want to reform a racket that lines their pockets. For the rest of us, strengthening the rule of law and eliminating moral hazard are each sufficient reasons.
Once seized, the property's owners bear the burden of proving that they were not involved in such activity, which can be a costly and protracted procedure. So, civil forfeiture proceeds on the guilty-until-proven-innocent principle. Civil forfeiture forces property owners, often people of modest means, to hire lawyers and do battle against a government with unlimited resources.
These practices are a textbook example of moral hazard of an incentive for perverse behavior. They give law enforcement a financial interest in the outcome of cases.
It is conceivable that Trump's studiousness has been stretched too thin to encompass the facts of civil asset forfeiture. He says he would like to "look into" it. Meanwhile, however, he is for it because he assumes "bad people" are behind the pressure for reform. And speaking of a Texas state legislator who favors reform, Trump said, "We'll destroy his career." Just another day on America's steep ascending path back to greatness.
HERE
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You can be a murderous tyrant and the world will remember you fondly but fuck one horse and you will be a horse fucker for all eternity. Catherine the Great
Under capitalism, man exploits man. Under communism, it's just the opposite.
J K Galbraith
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George Will: Trump Sides With The Sheriffs On Their Racket - 
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