The System Sucks

And here's why.
1) You buy a new car which you pay taxes on when you buy it. Then every year you have to pay the state money (the newer your car the more it is) just to drive it in the state where you live. Can anyone explain why this is? I understand it is good to register the car so that if someone commits a crime you can trace them via license plate (at least that is the only reason I can think of and that is because I read a lot of mystery books). But why every year? Once you register it once shouldn't it cost like $20-30 bucks for the paperwork involved, in my case $187 +$35 for the safety inspection + emmissions test. Now if you have a new car wouldn't it be safe to assume that 2 years later its still in pretty good condition. Also, is it really fair for the state to control wheather or not your car is safe enough to drive? Shouldn't the person driving the car be the one to decide that or suffer the consequences, are they hurting anyone else besides them selves? So, those questions aside, let me tell what happened to me. As you may have guessed the registration on my car expired in July. Now July was a busy month for me, holidays, my birthday, sister having a baby, family in town so believe it or not I do not get around to registering my car. So, come August 2nd, I have my car parked in salt lake city at the mall and come back to find a cop with way too much time on his hands and way too anal has given my a ticket for the sole reason of not having it registerd, 2 little days after the expiration. Ok, fine so the next week I pay all the costs register my car on line print off the temporary permit. The next day after registering my car I have to go to Salt Lake County court house for work and I am planning to then go the other court house to protest the ticket I have received. So, I park my car do what I need to at the courthouse come back to my car and Lo and Behold I have received another ticket for the registration of my car being expired, and this cop is so anal they have also written a note on it that the temporary ticket has to be taped on to the back window of my car in view. So that means the cop has seen the temporary registration permit sitting on the front seat of my car and still feels that it is such a violation to the public of Utah that I have not properly placed my permit on the window of my car. Really, do these people have nothing better to do? Shouldn't they be on the side of the average citizen? I will note that I did take my now two parking tickts over to court house #2 (about 1 block a way) to see what could be done, the second ticket was waived and the first cost me $20 (still a rip off) but the point I am trying make here is the principle of the thing. I mean gas is still over $4 a gallon in Utah, I hear we still have the 4th highest gas prices in the country, I have yet to receive my economic stimulus from the government and the cops are honestly going out of their way to see how much they can nickel and dime you for violations that are unfair in the first place. these are my views if anyone has any differnet opinons I will be happy to hear them but i doubt my views can be changed on this subject:)
Now for #2 (this is my longest blog to date by the way) Insurance I don't believe in it and I think all insurance companies and a lot of doctors/dentists/eye doctors are trying to rip you off as well. So, I have been without contacts for most of this year and have been waiting for my annual eye appt to get a new prescription. So, I go in for my appt, take all the tests, talk to the actual eye doctor for about 10 min he recommends a new kind of contact that you can sleep in and says he'll give me a trial pair. He gives them to me an assistant lady watches me put them in all by my self on the first try and then i walk out to pay what I think is going to be my $25 co pay and am charged an extra $139 for the doctor advising me on these new contacts and the fitting which took all of 1 minute. Don't you think you should be told these things in advance? I was fully prepared to pay for the contact lenses out of pocket since my insurance won't cover it this year of course, but I had no idea I would get charged to have them give me a trial pair and "show" me how to put them in. Well, I could go on and on about this subject but I just don't have enough time right now. So, I will just say this: Everyone (friends & family excluded of course) is trying to rip you off and you have to fight tooth and nail not to get ripped off in this country. Anyone agree or is it just me?