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The reason the fines are so high is that risk of getting caught is infinitesimal. This is the same reason they had to raise fines for honking in NY in non-emergencies to $500 to get people to stop. The appropriate fine should be something like

(damage to society) <= (fine) * (risk of getting caught)

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(damage to society) <= (fine) * (risk of getting caught)

This is nuts. If say a kid spray paints a tiny bit on an abandoned building at night, and then gets caught, by your logic we should ruin his life. We must treat something like that like murder because the chances of getting caught are so low.

You can also work on risk part of the equation, of course.

Risk of getting caught is so vastly different online that it's a difference not just of degree, but of kind. The old formula makes no sense in this context. The purpose of a single person's fine in this context should never be full restitution of all the damage done by all the people.

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