From the Department of Not Getting It...

Gov. Deval Patrick keeps driving up RMV fees

Gov. Deval Patrick is quietly whacking beleaguered Bay State motorists with a $5 fee to use Registry of Motor Vehicle branches to renew their licenses and registrations, outraging critics who say the “back-door tax” hits poor and elderly drivers the hardest.

The fee, which goes into effect today, comes on the heels of a $10 license renewal increase last year.

“In this economic climate we shouldn’t be nickel-and-diming people for mandated services,” said state Sen. Steve Baddour (D-Methuen), who co-chairs the Legislative Transportation Committee, and is planning to look into repealing the fee.

Note that a Democrat pointed this out. How bad does something have to be for a Democrat to speak out against increasing a fee?

What I want to know, though, is what happens to folks like me, who can't renew their license online because of corrective lenses? I am forced to pay an extra $5 because of my eyesight? It seems like this is something that has a disparate impact on me based on my biology - would this fee then be unjust under the Americans with Disabilities Act?

The only logical explanation is that Patrick has decided to not seek a second term. Between raising the sales tax, jacking up every fee he can get his hands on, and presiding over double-digit unemployment while continuing to hire six-figure hack jobs, it's going to be very difficult for him to even get the Democratic nomination this time around, let alone win in a general election.

Marsha Coakley will attest to that...

That is all.

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