> > > I have to admit I don't follow the local police blotter reports from
> > > Finland, so I don't know what the average speeding ticket is there.  I
do
> >
> > Hehe... It's based on your income. His ticket was over US $100K.
>
> That would piss me right off...

It works !!!
That is indeed the object of the fine.
A "normal" fine, which has just that affect on Joe Average, would fail to
have any great affect on a millionaire.

> if I commit the same offense as Joe
> Schmoe a block away, I should expect to pay the same penalty.  Some brands
> of "social justice" don't make any sense to me...  one more reason I'm not
> looking to emigrate to some "worker's paradise".

Let's see if I can make sense of this one for you.
The condition for car driving is generally accepted as part of a social
contract. You all agree to share a road together and behave in a manner
which you jointly agree on to balance risks and benefits. If speeds etc are
set too low it takes too long to get places and may pollute more. If speeds
are too high the danger versus utility increases. An acceptable compromise
is set BY THE MAJORITY. (If you don't like how that part is arrived at, see
your Congress critter - we don't have them here - that part is another
issue.) However, once a social contract is set there will be some who
immediately seek to abrogate it. Penalties are set to encourage people to
keep it. Those who disagree may go and play somewhere else (eg buy a Lear
Jet). However, if a penalty is set in absolute dollar terms it has a
disproportionate deterrent affect probably in inverse proportion to the
square of your disposable income. Once you hit $1 million a year or so a
$400 fine isn't going to deter at all. IF the social contract enforcement
aspects are going to have real affect at all levels they need to have a
similar affect at all levels. It appears that Finland STILL hasn't got it
right as somebody is prepared to knowingly risk a $100k fine. If he wasn't
knowing that this was the risk he is probably as stupid as he is rich.

Now, I know you know all that and I didn't have to spell it out but as I
genuinely can't understand that you can't understand that this is in fact
"the same penalty" in the Finnish case I have done so so that we can be sure
what we mutually understand :-). (I think that make sense :-)).

Seriously, why is this NOT fair? What would be a fair way of discouraging
millionaires from speeding? Assuming that prevention of breaking of social
contract is a reasonable act (and some think it's not), should millionaires
be allowed to speed more than average people?



        Russell McMahon

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