“A real patriot is the fellow who gets a parking ticket and rejoices that the system works” was written by Bill Vaughan (1915-1977), a columnist who specialized in aphorisms, in September 1975. The saying has been cited in many quotation collections.
 
Vaughan lived in Missouri and probably wasn’t thinking about New York City’s parking enforcement.
   
 
Wikipedia: William E. Vaughan
William E. (“Bill”) Vaughan (October 8, 1915 – February 25, 1977) was an American columnist and author. Born in Saint Louis, Missouri, he wrote a syndicated column for the Kansas City Star from 1946 until his death in 1977. He was published in Reader’s Digest and Better Homes and Gardens under the pseudonym Burton Hillis. He attended Washington University in St. Louis.
 
His folksy aphorisms (published in his “Starbeams” feature) are often collected in books and on Internet sites. Bill Vaughan died at age 61 of lung cancer.
 
Quotations
“A real patriot is the fellow who gets a parking ticket and rejoices that the system works.”
 
6 September 1975, Omaha (NE) World-Herald, “Senator Soaper,” pg. 4, col. 2:
A real patriot is the fellow who gets a parking ticket and rejoices that the system works.
 
9 September 1975, Tucson (AZ) Daily Citizen, “Once over lightly” by Bill Vaughan, pg. 20, col. 5:
A real patriot is the fellow who gets a parking ticket and rejoices that the system works.
   
Google News Archive
18 June 1979, Sarasota (FL) Herald-Tribune, “Today’s Chuckle,” right masthead:
A real patriot Is a fellow who gets a parking ticket and rejoices that the system works.
 
5 February 1988, Washington (DC) Post, “Farecards for Charity? Metro Says No” by Bob Levey, pg. E4:
“A real patriot is the fellow who gets a parking ticket and rejoices that the system works.”—Bill Vaughan.
 
Google Books
101 Annoying Things about Other Drivers
By Ray Comfort
Green Forest, AR; New Leaf Press
2007
Pg. 95:
“A real patriot is the fellow who gets a parking ticket and rejoices that the system works.” — Bill Vaughan
 
Google Books
101 Puzzles, Riddles and Rhymes for Attorneys
By Hyla Hope Harder
Xulon Press (xulonpress.com)
2010
Pg. 97:
Answer to Bill Vaughn Puzzle= “A real patriot is the fellow who gets a parking ticket and rejoices that the system works.”