Hacker News Reader

Comment by kosei | Hacker News Reader

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.

View on HN

> 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.

Then it could be a percentage of total assets - that would be equal, no? I do think fines are stupid though. Making people sit a day through a speed awareness course seems a better punishment to me.

Then it ends up hurting the middle class yet again.

The rich have their LLCs that purchase their houses and cars and trusts that keep the rest of their money invested. The middle class don't have the luxury and are hit with a disproportionate amount of the fine.

Better? Probably. More equal? I doubt it. “Sit a day through a speed awareness course” could cost people their job, and that’s more likely the lower paying the job is.

I've taken defensive driving to get a ticket removed from my record. You notify the state you are going to do so, then you have a certain time window (a few months) to take it. You can even take it online, which is still frustrating because you can't skip stuff.

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?

I don't think this is "obvious" at all. There are all sorts of laws that punish larger companies more than smaller companies or base the punishment on the impact to the party. Laws are made to regulate behavior and to keep order or safety - nobody said anything about the enforcement having to be equal.

The same logic (if applied consistently) would make judges give longer prison sentences to younger, healthier individuals.

What if the judge (in their quest for consistency) considers both their wealth of health and dearth of wisdom?

... if the only point of prison is punishment.

It should be equitably, not equally.

The fines are made as a revenue source, not to disincentivize anything.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com