Selective enforcement

For years in the U.S. there has always been the problem of selective enforcement when it comes to laws.  There are numerous times where one person is made into an "example" by being assigned a penalty while others get none. My favorite example is issuing speeding tickets. Speeders could easily have on-the-spot convictions at toll booths with time stamped tickets but they never are due to that pesky right to a fair trial requirement. In my opinion, it shouldn't prevent at least an appearance ticket from being issued if early payment of a toll shows speeding. However, I digress.

The fact is, the individual has more laws than can be applied to them than can be read in a human lifetime.  Does the fact a person can unknowingly break several  laws a day lead to frequent incarceration?  In most cases, no.  Instead, it leads to unelected governance and government bloat such as this team of agents who used taxpayer dollars to do a multi-agent arrest of a girl for buying water.  Why? The rulers become the ones who know the rules and can pick and choose which ones to point out when it's convenient to do so.  Such people include IRS auditors, coding inspectors, police officers and anyone else who has any government regulatory power at all.  Those who flash badges can even make up laws to entrap people such as officers in Ohio who set up a fake drug checkpoint.  Also, check out how our own FBI is "inventing terrorists"  It makes one wonder why we have laws at all. 

One relatively new use of selective enforcement is now being done to increase profits in the medical industry.  Did you know stockpiling your own medication is now illegal? Yes, stockpiling more than the prescribed dose of critical medication, you may need to live, is illegal. So, if you pill split due to anticipating a shortage due to financial hardship, too bad! Its more than you need since you obviously can get by with the lower dosage.  So, it could be the slammer for you!

Oh, but it gets better.  Suppose you check the price of your prescription with your pharmacist.  In some cases, the price charged is much higher than if you had no insurance at all!    However, going to another pharmacy and state you have a prescription and want to pay cash since you have no insurance.  Doing that is ...you guessed it...illegal.  Sorry, you were stupid enough to sign up for a medical plan through your employer that you cannot opt out of unless you are fired.  So, if you can't afford the higher price and you won't quit your job to get the lower price...no medicine for you!

When it comes to prescription drug laws, they now exist to extract maximum profit from patients.   Due to selective enforcement, these laws are making poorer people needlessly miserable.  Since rich people can still get drugs (and poor people know it) there is also collective non-respect for ALL laws gradually developing. Furthermore, a very lucrative price support system is now in place that is encouraging organized crime to enter the medical field.

For example, one area that is experiencing explosive growth is in heroin distribution in leu of prescription pain killers.  The pattern is very simple to see. a person gets hurt.  Person is prescribed very powerful prescription pain killers.  Medication is then abruptly stopped either due to further prescriptions not being issued or more often insurance refusing to pay for drugs being sold at inflated prices.  Person is then addicted and/or is still in excruciating pain.  Result?  Person is willing to do almost anything to get release from the pain.  At first, they pay the inflated drug prices.  Once they are out of money (and it doesn't take long since self-pay prices may be in the thousands per dose), they then turn to illegal but affordable alternatives such as heroin. Pain is enough of a motivator to them that they not only overcome their fear of dealing with very scary people but also overcoming a very powerful natural aversion to needles to self-inject heroin into their bodies.   

The solution to any corrupted system isn't easy.  It's just this:  Replace our elected incumbents with people who are willing to repeal laws that may only exist to perpetuate the profits of a few at the expense of many.  The alternative will be to enter into a world where the official economy becomes crippled by provisional governance while an alternate system immune from regulation or taxation (and usually prone to violence) will start to thrive.