Long Island transplant Joe Mirzoff expresses his appreciation for Robin Hood of Keene in a recent letter-to-the-editor of the Keene Sentinel:
Freedom is sometimes subtle; one might not even know when one has it or is losing it.
It is the issue of the day, but more relevant on the national scene than locally.
I moved from Long Island, N.Y., to Keene in April this year. One of the blessings of this place is the lack of traffic lights and stop signs. But it’s not only the freedom from the state telling you to stop and go all the time; my Honda gets 25 miles per gallon here, and only 18 in New York.
On Long Island, the traffic lights send you tickets in the mail. These tickets are $65, and the machinery make mistakes — politicians, the evidence and analysis will tell you they are about revenue, not safety.
Parking meters are like this, subtle freedom thieves, in part for the sake of revenue. One must remember to bring coins, deposit coins, come back to your car before the time runs out, take a day to go to court if you disagree with the enforcers’ opinion and pay rapidly increasing fines if you mess up or are late in payment.
Nobody’s behavior will change by being saved from a ticket by a Robin Hooder. People will still feed the meters and move their cars. And the Robin Hooders feed even more to the meters. The city’s objection (whether the city admits it or not) is the loss in revenue from tickets. The city wants you to mess up, in order to collect an additional tax, while further inconveniencing you.
Government should serve us; it should do things that help, not sting. After decades of neglect, maybe the city should finally focus on solving the flooding problem, for example.
The city admits to spending $20,000 to $25,000 on the first Robin Hood trial. My guess is that this understates the true cost, considering expensive consultants, work-time lost, and governments’ propensity to fib.
How much more tax money will be wasted in going to the N.H. Supreme Court, i.e. travel expenses? Does anyone care about the intimidation, inconvenience and expense to the six defendants, our neighbors?
To the city: Please back off; please focus on being more helpful and less dictatorial/arrogant.
And, I for one am thankful for the Robin Hooders’ push-back, which helps keep this place from becoming like New York.
Joseph Mirzoeff
50 Summit Road
Keene
