Comment by kennywinker
5 days ago
Fines not linked to income means it’s legal if you’re rich. I’m all for fining polluters to disincentivize pollution, but until we have income-pinned fines i’m not reporting any car under $50k
5 days ago
Fines not linked to income means it’s legal if you’re rich. I’m all for fining polluters to disincentivize pollution, but until we have income-pinned fines i’m not reporting any car under $50k
poor people idling their engines pollute just as much - or maybe more, depending on average vehicle age, etc. - as rich ones, and poor people are much more likely to suffer the negative consequences of that pollution
That is probably true, but since the law doesn’t punish everyone equally it means that enforcing the law equally is oppression.
it's for commercial vehicles, though, so your point doesn't make sense
It does punish everyone equally, if everyone pays the same fine. Some people having more ability to pay does not make the law unjust.
I think it's important to remember that money represents debt. When someone commits a crime, they owe a debt to society. But if they have money, that means society owes a debt to them, so when they pay the fine it balances out.
The system isn't perfect but the idea is that if someone makes a big contribution to society, like by practicing medicine or creating new technology, society's debt to that person shouldn't be cancelled out by a minor offense like a parking violation. But if they aren't contributing much, then breaking the rules could make them into a net negative.
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