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

nytimes.com

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

#11

Post by kosei »

I think I'd take the other approach than exorbitant fines for the rich. Perhaps they should grow (a $3,000 fine for a billionaire isn't unreasonable), but the more important part IMO is here:

"For people living on the economic margins, even minor offenses can impose crushing financial obligations, trapping them in a cycle of debt and incarceration for nonpayment."

I think it is reasonable that a speeding ticket for someone earning minimum wage could have a lower (say $50 instead of $150) penalty. The fines are made to disincentivize behavior, not put people in debt.

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

#14

Post by cowholio4 »

anabis wrote: post #9

Reminded me of Steve Jobs refusing to put a license plate on his car.

I thought that was done legally by leasing a new car every few months. And that loophole is part of the motivation for the new temporary plates in CA.

Edit: reference https://arstechnica.com/cars/2016/07/steve-jobs-loophole-clo...

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

#15

Post by Ro93 »

braptor wrote: post #13

The fine should be the same. No free lunch for someone who chooses to be a nurse instead of a portfolio manager.

the point of a fine is to act as a deterrent... billionaire isn't going to care about $100.

They aren't going to care about $1000 either, but at least it's doing more social good.

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

#16

Post by paublyrne »

stmfreak wrote: post #10
onion2k wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Well, no, it is a crime, in every country. Even in Germany only some autobahn, and often only certain sections of those autobahn, have no speed restrictions, because the roads are of a type (wide, long, and without pedestrians, oncoming traffic, or sudden turns) that make accidents less likely.

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

#17

Post by dopkew »

caseysoftware wrote: post #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-drivin…

It will put strong pressure to align the law with implementation. If the implementation treads into injustice, it (the law) is explicitly designed to be against those who can shrug it off, rather than drown.

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

#18

Post by rahimnathwani »

braptor wrote: post #13

The fine should be the same. No free lunch for someone who chooses to be a nurse instead of a portfolio manager.

"No free lunch for someone who chooses to be a nurse instead of a portfolio manager."

That's true. Portfolio managers are wined and dined pretty frequently by brokers and others who earn fees from the portfolio managers' employers.

Nurses might occasionally get a $10 box of chocolates from a grateful patient.

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