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A Billionaire and a Nurse Shouldn't Pay the Same Fine for Speeding

nytimes.com

1–10 of 106 posts

Re: A Billionaire and a Nurse Shouldn't Pay the Same Fine for Speeding

#2
This is already true for incarceration; a billionaire and a nurse lose the same amount of time. And one's time is paid more than the other's.

Speeding is a weird example though. If I'm driving I pay based on my income, but if my driver is driving he pays based on his?

> In 2015, it handed a businessman a $67,000 speeding ticket for going 14 miles per hour above the limit.

I just don't see how going 14 mph with zero other damage is equivalent to compensating the public $67k.

"Justice" is about balancing the action with its punishment, not gimmicks like this (that inevitably wind up with a super-complex system of loopholes, deductions, inefficiencies, etc.)

Re: A Billionaire and a Nurse Shouldn't Pay the Same Fine for Speeding

#3
This seems like backdoor civil asset forfeiture but it would allow them to take assets that aren't even present and/or involved at the time of the "offense".

Can you see a particularly cash-strapped town telling officers to skip the Toyota Camrys and instead pull over the BMWs? It seems ideal for abuse, selective law enforcement, and likely other bad behaviors.

Oddly enough, this would likely go away with self-driving cars as high income people switch to vehicles who "can't" break the law.

Re: A Billionaire and a Nurse Shouldn't Pay the Same Fine for Speeding

#4

This is already true for incarceration; a billionaire and a nurse lose the same amount of time. And one's time is paid more than the other's. Speeding is a weird example though. If I'm driving I pay based on my income, but if my driver is driving he pays based on his? > In 2015, it handed a businessman a $67,000 speeding ticket for going 14 miles per hour above the limit. I just don't see how going 14 mph with zero o…

> "Justice" is about balancing the action with its punishment

Right, that's the whole point of the income-proportional fines: to ensure that the same degree of punishment is given out to the billionaire and junior speeder.

Re: A Billionaire and a Nurse Shouldn't Pay the Same Fine for Speeding

#5

This is already true for incarceration; a billionaire and a nurse lose the same amount of time. And one's time is paid more than the other's. Speeding is a weird example though. If I'm driving I pay based on my income, but if my driver is driving he pays based on his? > In 2015, it handed a businessman a $67,000 speeding ticket for going 14 miles per hour above the limit. I just don't see how going 14 mph with zero o…

I just don't see how going 14 mph with zero other damage is equivalent to compensating the public $67k.

Speeding is a crime because you're risking the safety of other people. There's only "zero damage" if you're lucky. There's potential for a lot of damage. Considering the defined punishment is supposed to act as a deterrent I would argue $67k was actually too low.

Re: A Billionaire and a Nurse Shouldn't Pay the Same Fine for Speeding

#6

This is already true for incarceration; a billionaire and a nurse lose the same amount of time. And one's time is paid more than the other's. Speeding is a weird example though. If I'm driving I pay based on my income, but if my driver is driving he pays based on his? > In 2015, it handed a businessman a $67,000 speeding ticket for going 14 miles per hour above the limit. I just don't see how going 14 mph with zero o…

It's seeking equality of outcome which is basically communism and in no way equality as the nurse had every opportunity to also become successful in free society.

Re: A Billionaire and a Nurse Shouldn't Pay the Same Fine for Speeding

#7

This is already true for incarceration; a billionaire and a nurse lose the same amount of time. And one's time is paid more than the other's. Speeding is a weird example though. If I'm driving I pay based on my income, but if my driver is driving he pays based on his? > In 2015, it handed a businessman a $67,000 speeding ticket for going 14 miles per hour above the limit. I just don't see how going 14 mph with zero o…

It's part pricing the risk but mostly a deterrent to behave according to rules. If the rich guy pays the same fine as the poor, it's effectively cheaper for him, so he can allow himself to break rules more often.

Re: A Billionaire and a Nurse Shouldn't Pay the Same Fine for Speeding

#8

This is already true for incarceration; a billionaire and a nurse lose the same amount of time. And one's time is paid more than the other's. Speeding is a weird example though. If I'm driving I pay based on my income, but if my driver is driving he pays based on his? > In 2015, it handed a businessman a $67,000 speeding ticket for going 14 miles per hour above the limit. I just don't see how going 14 mph with zero o…

It's seeking equality of outcome which is basically communism and in no way equality as the nurse had every opportunity to also become successful in free society.

I wonder if these types of comments are designed to trash free market-ism and not communism ('Look, free marketists are so dumb. Ha ha ha')

Re: A Billionaire and a Nurse Shouldn't Pay the Same Fine for Speeding

#10
post #5

This is already true for incarceration; a billionaire and a nurse lose the same amount of time. And one's time is paid more than the other's. Speeding is a weird example though. If I'm driving I pay based on my income, but if my driver is driving he pays based on his? > In 2015, it handed a businessman a $67,000 speeding ticket for going 14 miles per hour above the limit. I just don't see how going 14 mph with zero o…

I just don't see how going 14 mph with zero other damage is equivalent to compensating the public $67k. Speeding is a crime because you're risking the safety of other people. There's only "zero damage" if you're lucky. There's potential for a lot of damage. Considering the defined punishment is supposed to act as a deterrent I would argue $67k was actually too low.

There is only actual damage if you are exceptionally unlucky. Almost everyone speeds to varying degrees, with wildly successful runs of luck.

Ergo, speeding is not a crime, it is an easy revenue target for greedy municipalities with overpaid cops.

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