Blue Civil War in California as State Jacks Up Traffic Fines

[Valin]

Via Meadia

May 10 2015

 

Pressed to come up with the money to stave off its public employee pension time bomb, the state of California is jacking up the cost of traffic tickets. Reuters reports:

 

(Snip)

This is a variation of what we call the “blue civil war”—the way the tightening fiscal vise around state and local governments end up pitting Democratic constituencies against one another. In this case, poor and minority Californians, who tend to need to drive further to work, are paying the brunt of the increased traffic fines—which are going to cover the retirement hole for unionized public employees.

 

(Snip)

As the blue model becomes fiscally unsustainable, the political coalition that holds it together will come under strain as well. The big question is whether Republicans or reform-minded Democrats can take advantage of this looming schism.