Craigslist is one of the great tools of the internet. I've bought all my motorcycles off of it, and my wife uses it extensively for things we need. Just the other day, I bought a load of hay for the horses from a guy we found on Craigslist. But when you roll up to seller who knows you're coming with lots of cash, or a buyer who knows you're bringing an expensive piece of equipment, you always feel a little like you're going to meet a rival crime family and wondering if it's an ambush. Fortunately (for those of you who know my wife!), no one has been foolish enough to attempt to ambush us. Unfortunately, for some people, that doesn't hold true.
The local police in Montgomery County, PA, have set up a place in their parking lot and the lobby of their police station just for Craigslist transactions. There's no interference, and you aren't required to use it, but it's available at no charge if you wanted a safe place to meet up where you'll have friendly eyes making sure you don't get robbed.
That's the kind of peace-officer policing I really respect.
6 comments:
Maintaining order to facilitate commerce: what a good idea for a government function!
Pardon my cynicism but it sounds like a precursor to taxation.
That's possible. "Hey, we noticed you accepted $300 cash yesterday, and we just wanted to let you know that we notified the IRS to expect it on your quarterly self-reporting."
As I was discussing with Cass the other day, the shadow economy in the US is now estimated at $2 Trillion a year: more than half the size of the whole German economy, and more than twice the size of Australia's whole economy. Mostly it's because Americans are rejecting Federal (and state and local) government claims about their right to take your money.
Of course, I assume that all those good citizens I've paid in cash during Craigslist transactions have done the lawful thing and reported the income. I only pay them in cash to smooth the transaction, as they otherwise would be stuck taking a check from someone they'd never met, and usually individual citizens can't take credit cards.
That's exactly the sort of thing government is *supposed* to do. I have wanted to use Craigslist for my parents to help them get rid of things they no longer need, but frankly don't want strangers showing up at the home of two 85 year olds to pick anything up. And arranging to be there for the transactions would be difficult as I live an hour away.
"To Protect and To Serve"
What a concept for the police to have.
*she says with only a slightly wry smile*
Neutral brokers and neutral territory were pretty useful.
Reputation had a price, once.
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