All Your 9-1-1 Are OURS!!

The Milk-Carton Mayor joins with D.A. Chisholm and Chief Flynn.

To take your money. But the plan they have is elegant, because it doesn't point the finger at them for taking and spending the money. It makes the phone providers the bad guys.

Ain't that sweet?

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett and two local law enforcement officials want telephone users to help pay for police, firefighters and paramedics through their phone bills.

Barrett, Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm and Police Chief Edward Flynn are asking Gov. Jim Doyle and the Legislature to give municipalities control over the 911 telephone surcharge that is supposed to expire Nov. 30. They're hoping to add that provision to the budget-repair bill now under consideration.

Although you may not have noticed, that fee is on its way down to zero--and hard-wire (land lines) are not paying as much, either.

The surcharge on cellular telephone users was created in 2005 to cover the costs of technology to pinpoint the locations of cell phones during calls to the 911 emergency number. Montgomery said that technology has saved at least 15 lives statewide.

The fee started at 83 cents a month, rose to 92 cents in 2006 and then dropped this year to 43 cents.

But before the fee expires, Barrett wants lawmakers to authorize municipal governments to retain the surcharge and expand it to cover all telephones, including land lines provided by both telephone and cable companies. Milwaukee would be able to boost its charge to a maximum of $1 a month in 2009 and $1.50 a month in future years.

It's Tommy's version of the Spanish-American War telephone tax. Forever and ever...

And of course, there's only ONE kind of crime that's at fault:

"Gun crime is expensive, and fighting crime is expensive," Barrett said

This is a nice technique. It's not an income tax, nor a property tax. It's a tax collected by a third party which is not a Government.