From one corrupt state to another...

One of the few 'non friends and family' things that I miss about California is the ridiculous amount of laws on the books...most of them are trite but every once in a while, they get one right...sort of. I grew up in California...the most self-absorbed part, Southern California, for almost 30 years before I packed up and left...but enough about me.

The HOV or carpool lanes could have been a great idea if the government had properly written the laws governing their use. There must be two people in the vehicle in order to permit use of the specific lane...the law doesn't state that the second person be of driving age (so a 12 year old passenger qualifies). The lanes were touted as being created to alleviate traffic and give people a reason to carpool. How does getting a kid off his bike reduce traffic? Do kids even ride bikes anymore?

Then the ban on cell phone use while driving that went into effect in July of 2008...except that people could still text message (why didn't one of these lawmakers spend time in a car with a Gen Y member?). The fine is $20...not enough for most officers to warrant the effort to pull someone over.

Some five months later...the text messaging ban that went into effect today. Same ridiculous fine, $20 for the first offense, which will do little to curb the rash of people who insist on texting others whilst piloting a vehicle they can barely drive to begin with due to "mastering the basics". Isn't the concept of a fine purposed to prevent the action through a financial detriment? $20 isn't much of a detriment to most of the people who pay upwards of five times that amount for the device in which they're using to require the fine.

State government is notoriously corrupt...I live in Illinois, where the governor is up for impeachment (he should be set on fire in a field of chairs)...and the government of Chicago is so corrupt the government won't even touch them. Daley has figured out how to carry out his deeds and not get his hands dirty...daddy taught him well.

2009 should prove to be an interesting year for government, consumers and business...the climate of our economy will push things in interesting directions. Survival will come in many new forms...as it should.