Some Floridians are paying for cops twice

"After her sport utility vehicle sideswiped a van in early February, Shirley Kimel was amazed at how quickly a handful of police officers and firefighters in Winter Haven, Fla., showed up. But a real shock came a week later, when a letter arrived from the city billing her $316 for the cost of responding to the accident.

“I remember thinking, ‘What the heck is this?’ ” says Ms. Kimel, 67, an office manager at a furniture store. “I always thought this sort of thing was covered by my taxes.”

It used to be. But last July, Winter Haven became one of a few dozen cities in the country to start charging “accident response fees.” The idea is to shift the expense of tending to and cleaning up crashes directly to at-fault drivers. Either they, or their insurers, are expected to pay."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30162245/

My take:

This bold and imaginative maneuver by Winter Haven opens up unlimited possiblities for tax-loving politicians and bureaucrats. Coming soon: taxes on sunshine consumption, air that passes through your lungs, the space your body occupies, 911 calls, your personal wear on tear on roads and highways.

Assessment of these taxes will, of course, require unprecedented monitoring of your every move, the cost of which you will pay.

In short, we're all going to be New Yorkers.