Should the US base fines on income?

     I don’t know if you heard the story about a driver in Finland who had to pay a $130,000 fine for speeding? While my memory of the amount and the conversion of currency me be a little off. The story is true. In Finland and other countries like Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Austria, France, and Switzerland also have systems of “day fines.” This can get a little mathematics in its calculation, but in short, it set the fines as, How long or many days would it take the person to pay a fine.

Essentially making it an equal amount of punishment or inconvenience.

     So for math and convenience think of it as being 10% of a person’s daily income. For many that might be $5-$10. For others, it would be more like a $100-. Yet for some, 10% of their daily income could be thousands of dollars. The reasoning of this idea is to have the “Punishment” be equal for all, not the dollar amount.

     The European model is not to take food or housing away but to have the fines be paid with so-called extra money. Again the idea is that they equate penalty and punishment. To many having a wall street broker who makes $10,000- a day pay a $100- fine doesn't seem like much of a penalty, especial compared to a mom working part-time at Walmart. Yes, they both did the same “crime” but for the Wall Street worker it’s 1/10th of a day’s pay and for the Walmart worker it may be more than 1/2 of her whole weeks pay.

To some in the U.S. that does not seem like an equal punishment, and as for “THE RICH” we can imagine they wouldn’t be in favor of it.

Here is Bill Murray telling a story about driving a golf cart drunk in Sweden and his disdain for the income-based fines there.