Crime doesn't pay. But traffic tickets do.

Two posts in one day. Amazing.
USA Today had another interesting story on page one. It's about increased enforcement of traffic laws because cities and counties need the money.
Gee. Like Captain Louis Renault, the character played by Claude Rains in Casablanca, I'm shocked.
You can bet that police officers who hear rumors of layoffs will be quick to write tickets in the hope of keeping their jobs.
But, public officials shouldn't count on that fine money to keep flowing. Back in the 1980s, when Kathy Whitmire was mayor of Houston, members of the police department used ticket fines to jerk her administration around.
At one point during her administration, the police were writing tickets galore. The money just poured into municipal court and the city coffers. And, Whitmire counted on that money to balance her budget.
But, she was unpopular with many police officers. So, when she was committed to spending that money, all of a sudden the police turned off the money spigot. It was darn difficult to get a traffic ticket in Houston. The income from fines plummeted.
Enough said.