Being forced to work for someone else. Unconstitutional?

[agamemnus]

In Boston, and some other cities, you have to clear the sidewalk in front of your house in order for pedestrians to travel through, even though the city owns the sidewalk in the vast majority of cases. If you don't, you get fined.

Our City Council is set to pass the same law in our poor inner city on Tuesday for our beaten down homeowners. Just another great incentive to move to our city, besides the crumbling parks and infrastructure, painful commute to Boston, the city's inability to plow the snow correctly itself, and high crime. Apparently it was already in force for businesses and landlords, but not homeowners.

What's more is that you must clear 42 inches of your sidewalk. Our average sidewalk here is about 48 inches.

Another great fact about this is that the city snow plowers usually do not have anywhere to put the snow except on the sidewalk... great, huh? Bright minds at our city hall.

I thought slavery was unconstitutional.

If I get a heart attack clearing and re-clearing a sidewalk, I guess that's it. No one to sue because of state tort limits that place the burden of proof squarely on the dead person, stupid old me. Just following a city ordinance, what a dead loser. No choice but to pay the fine in order to stay alive.

Discuss.

My 80 year old mother-in-law has ALWAYS gotten a ticket for snow removal, she even got one for a piece of trash which fell out of her trash barrel in her yard!!!! So ticketing is nothing new here!!! As for 4 hours that's absurd...what about those of us who actually have a real job and have to be there snow or no snow...Are you going to call my boss and tell him I'm going to be late because I have to clear my sidewalk????