Seattle now paying 'Secret Trash Police' with tax money to inspect residents' garbage and impose fines

(NaturalNews) Throughout human history, the natural tendency of leaders has been to exert as much influence and control over the masses as possible. Our founding fathers knew and understood this, which is why they created a government featuring three separate branches of government that served as a check and balance on each other, so no single branch – or one person – could become too powerful.

It is the rare individual who relinquishes power willingly, and this was demonstrated by our first president, George Washington, who – after achieving victory in the Revolutionary War – voluntarily resigned his commission as commander in chief, rather than merely assume control over the newly founded country. It was an act that was so uncommon at the time that it moved Washington's vanquished foe, King George of England, to declare the Virginian "the greatest character of his age."

Fast forward to the present. These days, it is the American citizen who routinely surrenders power to the ruling elite, not the other way around, and as such, the rulers are constantly abusing us for it.

Consider what has recently taken place in Seattle, a city whose leaders demand that business owners pay employees a "minimum wage" of $15 an hour even though such a wage, in most cases, far exceeds the employee's worth or level of skill. There, nanny statists have essentially deputized garbage collectors, with the goal of catching someone disposing of something they are not allowed to throw away.

As reported by Watchdog.org, police are constitutionally required to get a warrant before they can conduct searches for evidence, but not garbage collectors:

Seattle is on the cutting edge of nanny state-ism with a new citywide ban on throwing any compostable material into the trash, no matter how gross, smelly or disgusting it might be. The city government is serious about this — so serious that they have deputized the trashmen as a sort of secret police who are being ordered to rat on residents' trash habits to the nannies at Seattle Public Utilities.

Stay updated with breaking news about the Police State at policestate.news

Trashing privacy rights

Lots of people are likely thinking that such activity is in violation of both the U.S. and Washington state constitutions – and they would be correct, according to lawyers at the Pacific Legal Foundation.

The non-profit law firm has long battled such ridiculous government regulations like the Seattle trash cops regulation; as such, the group has filed suit against the city, asking a state judge to overturn and shut down Seattle's trash-snooping program.

"While it's laudable to encourage recycling and composting, the city is going about it in a way that trashes the privacy rights of each and every person in Seattle," said Brian Hodges, managing attorney for PLF's Pacific Northwest Center, based in suburban Seattle, as quoted by Watchdog.org.

The Seattle Times reported that city officials have, so far, had no comment to make about the lawsuit.

Food waste bans require garbage collectors to comb through contents of garbage cans to report violations to city officials, in this case Seattle Public Utilities, the bureaucracy which imposed the ban and could soon begin issuing fines for any violations.

For more articles on the nanny state and tyranny following breaking stories at tyranny.news

'Tear open' any garbage bags collectors cannot see through

As further reported by Watchdog.org:

The new rules took effect Jan. 1, but the city is graciously allowing for an education period before it begins issuing fines to people who carelessly toss an apple core or a toilet paper tube into the wastebasket.

For now, offending trash bins will have an "educational tag" attached. The lawsuit estimates some 9,000 of those tags were issued between January and April, including two to one of the eight named plaintiffs in the lawsuit.

But by this coming January, the warnings will disappear and fines will begin in earnest. For single-family homes, fines of $1 for each instance of compostable material being found in garbage containers will be issued; for apartment complexes and commercial buildings, owners will be fined $50 per occurrence.

Anyone thinking they will "outsmart" the garbage collectors by placing refuse in black non-see-through bags is in for a surprise as well. Collectors are being instructed to tear into any bags they cannot see through.

Sources:

www.thenewamerican.com

www.shtfplan.com

www.watchdog.org

www.seattletimes.com

www.pacificlegal.org