This story on WCPO TV is worth watching. An old guy (a friend’s step-father) hits a broken road reflector in the road, gets a flat, spends $25 to file a claim for the $89 tire – and then the State spends at least hundreds of dollars to deny the claim, and then bills him for the postage and investigation (a whopping $24.66). When he ignores the invoice, thinking he’d cut his losses- and not pay to appeal, the Ohio AG sends threatening letters:

The final notice came from Ohio’s Attorney General demanding full payment within seven days, or the state would go after his “wages and bank accounts.” The letter also said, “a sheriff’s sale of your personal property may be held, and a foreclosure action against any real estate owned by you may be initiated.”

Holden was amazed the state was threatening to seize his farmhouse over a $24.66 bill, but he took that threat seriously.

Man Gets Flat Tire, State Threatens Foreclosure – Cincinnati breaking news, weather radar, traffic f.

You have to watch the video to see the piles of paper the State sent. A fifteen page report- to deny a claim for $89.

The insanity continues beyond this case, in that the State repaved the road and installed the same 6lb reflectors which have been known to seriously injure people instead of installing the new lightweight units made of plastic.

I’ve experienced the same thing on payment of sales tax, where the State decided to estimate my business’s collection of sales tax and then tacked on $1,500 fines when I didn’t pay from their estimate (most of what we do is tax exempt since it falls under advertising expenses which aren’t taxed).

I’ve also been threatened by the Ohio Elections Commission for failure to file their proper campaign reports- which make no sense to a normal person, since they are designed so politicians can hide where the money comes from. Just reporting where you got the money and where you spent it would be too easy.

Bureaucrats breed bureaucracy. Unfortunately, our elected leaders are afraid to hold them accountable for their failing business practices. How else can we explain Ohio’s population losses?

This case is a perfect example of why we need to reform government.