That is utterly ridiculous. I'd leave the country and tell the govt. to kiss my ass if they tried to collect that fine. I guess the punishment doesn't fit the crime in Finland!!
If they did that in Texas, I would probably get a $5 ticket for going 85 in a 30. (or something rediculous like that)
I'm not sure I'd be in favor of this, but that law isn't a bad idea. What's a $50 fine to a multi-millionaire? They'd use that much in toilet paper before lunch. But $50 to a working single mom is a different story. The violation is the same, but the punishment is different, in effect. Making the fine a set percentage of income would ensure that the "punishment" fits the crime. Again, I'm not saying I'd be in favor of this. But it is interesting to note how most of our responses have been to defend a millionaire from paying the same percentage of income that a poor person would.
GV76, You are arguing from an honest, but flawed perspective. Nothing in this world can be totally egalitarian without killing the golden goose of our capitalist system. It's not fair that the govt. should punish the success of a wealthy man by such a ridiculous punishment. And that is exactly what they are doing!
im not sure but i think that would probably be found unconstitutional. a crime is a crime...you shouldnt punish people based on their ability to pay something. would parking fines be included in this idea too? it would be insane to fine someone that much just because they have more money. i dont think it has anything to do with us defending the millionaire...i think it is just us defending fairness. that is simply unfair to fine someone for something that small just because they have more money.
Nothing in this world can be totally egalitarian without killing the golden goose of our capitalist system. Maybe true if you are talking about "totally egalitarian". However, it is sad that Bama types use this type of statements to attack virtually any economic equality. For instance, I'm sure he would bitterly attack a $5.00 hour minimum wage as being "totally egalitarian". I guess another question is whether a system that can't produce $5 per hour jobs is really that successful.
I agree, it would be like basing car registration costs on income level. It's not like the fine that is the issue either, it's your driving record. GV76's would argue that by fining rich people more would act as a discuragement for them continuing that illegal behaviour and by not doing so would allow them to continue to keep paying the minimal fine and just keep on speeding. The fact is that eventually you will lose your license. The point is that the way our system works is that the punishment escalates as you repeat illegal behaviour. With our system you are treated equally and not persecuted for your wealth. Now, I realize that a $200 fine would be much more painful for a single mother with kids, yada, yada, yada. But tough luck, that the way it is, if want life to be easier make more money. You can't afford the fine. Stop breaking the law! You made the choices in your life to get you where you are. It wasn't anyone else's fault that you're poor. "But I have three kids and can't work more!" you say. The government didn't require you to have children. In fact they have gone out of their way to make it legal for you to terminate a pregnancy. Stop complaining about what is being done to you and do something for yourself.
You fail to realize that a minimum wage SUPPRESSES employment. The marketplace is not just about goods, but skills as well. My skills as a sports reporter and sports radio personality enable me to command a premium in the job market. Someone whose only skill is mopping floors or flipping burgers should be paid what the marketplace will pay for those jobs, which is nearly nothing. It is an incentive to get off your lazy butt, get some training and get a real job. Besides, most minimum wage jobs are not held by people with families (if they are, that is a crime in of itself!) but teenagers. Artificially forcing companies to pay people for more than what their skills are worth is not only bone-headed liberal horsepuckey, but cuts back on the number of employees that a company can hire! And you people who claim to care about the poor with your brain-dead "living" wage actually put people out of work! The irony is just hilarious, but whoever associated liberals with rational thought.
Guess this thread is headed to the D & D. I arrived at my point via logic, not as this emotional "It's not fair" whine that we hear from the left, whose powerful are the very rich they seek to destroy!!!! This speeding fine is just unbelievably ridiculous.
How about making all trafic fines a choice of paying $200,000 or giving up your license? That way you aren't discriminating against anybody because of what they make and if you can't afford the fee you can get out of the fine for free by giving up your license for a period of time (1 year? 6 months?). "Poor" people who can't afford the fee will clearly have to give up their licenses and "rich" people can either give up driving or voluntarily contribute more tax revinue to the state. Of course, this doesn't satisfy those municipalities that make money from traffic fines but that's another story.
I like the system. Maybe it wouldn't fly in the US, but it seems fine in Finland. I don't think the system does attack the basis of a capitalist economy (though it is moot in talking about the Finnish context anyway). Having large fines for the rich won't deter people from trying to become rich because the benefits of being rich would still outweigh its responsibilities. So, it wou;dn't be squashing innovation or enterprise. And if the rich don't like it, in the words of PieEatinFattie, tough luck, that's the way it is. If you can't afford the fine, stop breaking the law.
I was listening to NPR yesterday, and the program Fresh Air. There was a man talking about research showing that the happiest societies in the world are the Scandanavian ones. The reasons people listed were the equality and wealth assessment policies there.
