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

Post by [deleted] » Fri, Mar 16, 2018, 7:43 AM UTC

cheriot wrote: post #22

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…

There's a big gap between a "day fine" and taking someone's house because their kid stashed some drugs in the closet. One is proportional and happens on conviction while the other can be nuts.

Post by lox » Fri, Mar 16, 2018, 7:45 AM UTC

deviationblue wrote: post #34

kosei wrote: post #11

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 s…

> a $3,000 fine for a billionaire isn't unreasonable This sounds ridiculous to me because the idea of laws, and by extension fines, is that they apply uniformly, regardless of class, gender, whatever.

Post by lox » Fri, Mar 16, 2018, 7:48 AM UTC

Yaggo wrote: post #35

I'm from Finland where we have this kind of "relative fines". While I generally agree with the concept, it should better take into account the household's total income & wealth. E.g. I could get a fine of 1/2 of my monthly net income for driving 140 km/h (87 mph) on highway, which would hit hard our household (three kids, low income spouse, no savings), although no real harm or risk was caused to anyone.

Post by kosei » Fri, Mar 16, 2018, 7:51 AM UTC

gnud wrote: post #40

deviationblue wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> a $3,000 fine for a billionaire isn't unreasonable This sounds ridiculous to me because the idea of laws, and by extension fines, is that they apply uniformly, regardless of class, gender, whatever.

The laws should obviously apply equally. Exactly for that reason, fines should not be the same for someone who earns $15/hr and $1500/hr. A fine of $150 is 10 hours of work for one person, and 6 minutes for the other. How is that equal application of the law?

Post by empath75 » Fri, Mar 16, 2018, 7:55 AM UTC

tbrownaw wrote: post #30

Or just do away with the fines completely. At least where I live, a speeding ticket knocks off a couple of your license's 12hp, and they take like a year to regenerate. Maybe that alone should be enough, or maybe you should also have to sit there one extra minute for every mph over the limit you were going.