The big banks, and in this case the rich Boston burbs, know that we are too weak to unionize; we’re too scattered and separated from one another to fight against their fees. By charging millions of people a few dollars at a time, they get their fees without causing too big an uproar. We’re the path of least resistance between the big corporations and our money that they want for themselves, and the robbery will continue until the wrong person gets charged an amount that finally tips the pissed-off-meter. When will that be? I’m already pissed off and am waiting for you.
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Cambridge, Massachusetts charges an APR of 373.00% on unpaid parking tickets and Brookline an APR of 928.00%. And you thought your credit card was bad.
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I was distracted, sure. But I’m aware now. In September, 2010, en expired meter parking ticket for $25 landed on my dashboard in Harvard Square, Cambridge, MA. It was annoying, but I gladly accepted my car’s fate. For hours I had been working with Harvard’s Committee for the Use of Human Subjects Director to iron out the kinks in my thesis proposal’s CUHS application. By the time I got out of the meeting, I had renewed faith that my thesis would be possible and paying a $25 ticket felt worth it. Plus, I knew I did wrong.
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In November, 2010, I got a parking ticket just over the Boston border in Brookline. There were no “no parking” signs, and other people were parked in front and behind me. I know the “other people are doing it” excuse is not right, still, the few days before I hadn’t gotten a ticket, but this day I had. That hardly felt consistent or necessary. This ticket was for $30.
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By November 2010, I had one $25 ticket and one $30 ticket. I swear I paid the Cambridge one, but for the sake of argument – Cambridge’s argument – let’s say that I didn’t. So I had $55 total in parking tickets.
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By calling Brookline and explaining that there was no “no parking” sign, my ticket was decreased to $10 and a firm warning that “All Brookline streets have a parking ban and it’s clearly stated on the Welcome to Brookline sign”. I explained to deaf ears that there was no welcome sign. She didn’t care. In any case, my ticket was now $10. I didn’t pay it on principle. There was no sign.
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Fast forward to yesterday, June 20, 2011, and things had drastically changed. My tickets had drastically changed.
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Cambridge: Brookline:
September 2010: $25 November 2010: $10
June 2011: $95 June 2011: $70
Percent increase: 280% Percent increase: 600%
Annual % rate (APR): 373.00% Annual % rate (APR): 928.00%
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You’re reading those numbers right. I didn’t forget to divide or move the decimal. On parking tickets in Cambridge, Massachusetts, they are charging an APR of 373% and in Brookline, Massachusetts, they are charging an APR of 928%.
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After cycling through anger, despair, frustration, nausea, I finally decided that my sanity is worth more than my money and I paid these two tickets. There is no regulation on this type of behavior and it will keep going on until the right person gets hit or people finally decide they have the right to stand up for themselves. It’s not right. Typing this makes me angry. It is not our fault that we are in a recession. Moreover, I know this post will do nothing. It needs to stop.
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