6 Comments

I like the idea of a day fine, but what I also find upsetting is the source of the money someone like Trump uses to pay fines. Not only is he getting away with a low fine in proportion to his income, but he's using money that he didn't earn himself, but that comes from his supporters incomes. To someone who has no conscience, that doesn't even register, but for anyone who does possess a conscience, it's upsetting. Very similar to those who use other people's money to earn their living, because they don't relish the thought of getting their own hands dirty.

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During a homeless count, I was lucky to meet a young man who educated me about the horrors of our fine system and what can happen for non-payment. He was on his own at a young age with no family support system. He worked and had an apartment, UNTIL he was cited for some simple traffic violations. Unable to pay the fines and subsequent penalties, he lost his apartment and job. He was determined to fight his way back, but what an outrage!

It's pretty easy to confirm who is living paycheck to paycheck, and they should have community service alternatives. Like so many common sense ideas that come out of the Nordic countries, the "day fines" would be another great way to balance the scales of justice.

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Mr. Hartman's research is touching and emotionally moving, however, it only touches the cover paint of a much larger truth: During the last 50 years we have seen very few white-collar criminals, CEOs or corporate board members go to jail. Instead, we have seen a significant revolving door of poor people going to jail for years for low-economic misbehavior https://financesonline.com/how-income-inequality-affects-crime-rates/. I am not sure the 'day-fining' system quoted by Mr. Hartman will change the behavior of the very rich people, and I am not sure our 'temporary outrage' reported in a few news media that is not already owned by huge corporate entities will have any behavior changing impact. The consequences are simply inconsequential to the very rich; they need a character changing experience https://www.cbsnews.com/news/top-10-ceos-in-prison-whyd-they-do-it/. And corporate board members need to face the possibility that the public may terminate their corporate charter to do business, and prohibit their association with any new business - just as registered sex offenders are limited.

Mr. Hartman's citations:

Not every country counts fines this way. Sweden, Germany, Denmark, Austria, Switzerland and France all have systems where rich people pay higher fines than the poor or middle class; Finland’s was first introduced in 1921.

Every now and then one of those fines catches American media’s attention and provokes a few days of discussion, like when Finnish multimillionaire Reima Kuisla was hit with a roughly $60,000 fine for going 64 MPH in a 50 MPH speed zone.

But what are called “day fines” in Europe, scaled to a portion of a person’s daily income, have never caught on here in America.

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