Mugged by the State

Every day, people are mugged by the state. By this I mean that they are assaulted and robbed. Most people don’t expect to be mugged by the state, but it happens all the time. To the victim, the mugging appears to be entirely random. While the mugging may be targeted, or it may merely be policy, the effect on the victim is the same in any event.

For example, a Canadian women who had her son kidnapped by Oregon authorities now has the the state of Oregon demanding payment for the two years the child spent in foster care. You might as well expect that harpies of hell to descend on you as much as you would expect that a government would kidnap your child, hold the child for two years, and then present you with a bill.

Another example concerns Ted White, who was unaware that police detective Richard McKinley
was having a affair with his wife. Mr. White’s wife and McKinley framed him for child molestation. McKinley committed perjury and suppressed evidence in order to obtain the conviction. Mr. White spent five years in jail before he was exonerated. McKinley was fired from his job, but he never suffered any criminal or civil penalties for his actions. Also, Mr. White’s wife divorced him, got every penny he had, and married McKinley. The city that employed McKinley is fighting a sixteen million dollar judgement.

What these cases, and many others, have in common is that individuals pay an enormous price for the arbitrary acts of government officials. The apparently limitless resources of the state are arrayed against people of modest means. As a result, the victims have no chance.

Due to a of system immunity built around employees of the state, the people who commit these outrages almost never pay the price for their deeds. If the individuals who are damaged receive any recompense, it is from the taxpayers.

Of course, making the taxpayers pay for the misdeeds of government agents is merely another injustice. The taxpayers have no effective control over the government. Consequently, making the taxpayers responsible for acts committed by government officials is a sick joke.

Government officials, such as the police, judges, prosecutors, bureaucrats, politicians, etc., need to be stripped of their immunity. Stripping government officials of immunity will accomplish two goals: the officials will have to act more responsibly, and the officials will have to pay for their own misdeeds.