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Title: No one is pettier than government.
Source:
Reason
URL Source: https://reason.com/blog/2017/11/29/ ... e-was-choked-defecated-himself
Published: Nov 29, 2017
Author: Ed Krayewsk
Post Date: 2017-12-01 05:42:15 by Deckard
Keywords: None
Views: 3408
Comments: 49
A Michigan man claims that when he tried to pay a parking ticket in Royal Oak with pennies, a court officer responded by choking him. The attack led him to defecate, he says. The alleged assault was caught on surveillance tape. An attorney for Anthony Sevo says he intends to sue. Sevo was charged with disturbing the peace and assaulting an officer. He plead no contest on the first charge and the latter was dropped. "I don't think anyone paying in penny rolls, whether it's a preferred thing to do for a court clerk, warrants this type of this assaultive behavior and violation of constitutional rights," the lawyer told Fox's Detroit affiliate. The ticket was for just $10. Sevo said he was willing to pay with a credit card, but balked at the processing fee of $1.75—17.5 percent of his fine. By comparison, a 2013 settlement between credit card companies and businesses limited the "swipe fee" merchants could charge to 4 percent. If Royal Oak officials are worried about an influx of coin payers, it can buy an industrial coin counter for about $400. Otherwise, for the occasional coin payment far cheaper options are available. Coin and currency are legal tender for debts, public charges, and taxes. In Pennsylvania a few years ago, one small town learned that the federal regulation it was invoking to reject coin payments had in fact expired half a century earlier. As petty as trying to pay a $10 fine in pennies might be (and as far as paying with pennies goes, that's relatively mild—this year a Virginia man tried to pay $3,000 worth of car taxes in pennies), the government's actions are pettier. But why would anyone expect any different? The residents of Royal Oak don't have a choice of government. Sure, they can vote every few years, but the local bureaucracies remain in place irrespective of who wins. The 44th District Court, where the incident happened, doesn't have to worry about customer service because there's no competitive pressure. Whether or not you're satisfied with them, you're going to have to pay your fines there, and take it. 
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Begin Trace Mode for Comment # 46.
#6. To: Deckard (#0)
Not even close. When he tried to pay a parking ticket with pennies, the court clerk refused. He was asked to leave the building and was escorted out by two court oficers. On the way out, there was a scuffle and he was restrained. He was charged with assaulting a police officer and disturbing the peace. The assault charge was eventually dropped in a plea agreement that required Sevy to plead no contest to disturbing the peace.
You should be allowed to pay in pennies. It is legal money.
True. And you CAN pay in pennies. But the payee doesn't have to accept pennies. Or personal checks. Or credit cards. Or cash. I once paid a city fine where they only accepted a cashier's check. This story is not an issue of the form of payment offered. It's an issue of the form of payment accepted.
The government has to accept government created money. Don't be stupid. Or it would have to in a just and sane world.
That they should... I agree. On the same token, government should pay this asshole his tax return... in pennies. Some people should treat others the way they would like to be treated. The office clerk collecting the fine, isn't the person who had ANYTHING to do with this asshole parking like a Paultard.
If I were they guy’s boss, I would pay the smart ass punk in unrolled pennies each pay day. Yep, I surely would. I would do that four, five or more times before I fired him. I would not want someone with his attitude working for me.
Unrolled pennies can be recycled for more than the face value. I'm sure your employee would thank you for the raise.
#47. To: A K A Stone (#46)
(Edited)
I think you are speaking about the intrinsic value, the value of currency as determined by the weight, composition and prices of its material. If so, then you are talking “only used to be.” Today’s pennies contain 97.5% zinc and only 2.5% copper, rendering them not much more intrinsically valuable than paper money. Now if you were able to do the nearly impossible thing today and lay you hands on pennies produced in the US between 1909 and 1982 that would be a different story. Those pennies are 95% copper and 5% zinc, the metal “melt” value (at current prices) is 247% of its denominational marketplace value of one-cent. For the copper alone, at $3.72 per pound, the intrinsic value is about 2.5-cents. So if you had 100 pre-1982 pennies in a bag with a face value of $1.00, your bag would contain about $2.50 worth of copper. On a larger scale, a $100 face value worth of pre-1982 pennies would net about $250 worth of copper. Copper is what the penny hoarders really seek. These “copper” pennies are no longer in circulation. People know their value and hoard them. Any way….I didn’t bother to look up the price of zinc, but I don’t think the melt down would be worth the effort and definitely could not be considered profitable. Otherwise, many people would be doing that.
Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/LatestA Michigan man claims that when he tried to pay a parking ticket in Royal Oak with pennies, a court officer responded by choking him.
#9. To: misterwhite (#6)
#10. To: A K A Stone (#9)
You should be allowed to pay in pennies. It is legal money.
#14. To: misterwhite (#10)
#33. To: A K A Stone (#14)
The government has to accept government created money.
#34. To: GrandIsland (#33)
#46. To: Gatlin (#34)
(Edited)
Replies to Comment # 46. Unrolled pennies can be recycled for more than the face value. I'm sure your employee would thank you for the raise.
End Trace Mode for Comment # 46.
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