Policymakers who subscribe to social engineering often use parking rules to help achieve their vision for a supposed Utopian society. A society in which central planners adopt a particular value and try to impose it on everyone else. This recent Seattle Times article puts this strategy in full display. The original purpose of parking enforcement has all but disappeared and now become more about forcing behavior changes and increasing revenue. This article contains so many good lines I had to highlight my favorite:

"The reason, city planners say, is simple: Mass transit isn't considered convenient enough for most people."

"Last year, Seattle's parking-enforcement officers wrote up 508,675 tickets. That's about one a minute."

"The city is pushing pay-to-park stations into neighborhoods, replacing spots that had been free."

"It's all part of Seattle's larger plan to discourage driving."

"The pushback on drivers is about trying to shape a new transportation culture, city officials say."

"The paradigm has to shift at some point," said Bryan Stevens, spokesman for the Department of Planning and Development. "People will change their patterns as it becomes more difficult to drive and park."

And then there are these quotes from Seattle Parking enforcement officers, which just scare me:

"I'm sorry, but I don't consider myself a Nazi," she said. "We're just here to serve the public ... so why are you arbitrarily deciding the rules don't apply to you?"

"Yes, I like my job and I want to do a good job. If you complied with the rules, you'd never meet me."

"I thought, 'My god, how am I ever going to be able to write enough tickets to justify my existence?' "Her perception changed after the first hour."