It will never make sense to me how low monetary fines are for crimes in general, especially when they are specifically lower than the money gained for that crime.
For another example, the crime of claiming to be a lawyer in California of which Trumps Press Secretary is being accused comes with a maximum of 1 year in prison OR $1000 dollar fine. $1000 vs 1 year of imprisonment… those are not even comparable for anybody. Even if you are just talking about lack of earning potential for a whole year at minimum wage, we are talking $15,000 losses. And for someone who is pretending to be a lawyer, they were likely making far more than minimum wage. And that is on top of the experience itself of the prison time AND the stigma of having been to prison after your release. Or… you pay $1000. I’m not wealthy, but that fine would be more annoying than punishing to me, and I’m not making lawyer-like money. How are those two things the options for the same crime?
It will never make sense to me how low monetary fines are for crimes in general, especially when they are specifically lower than the money gained for that crime.
For another example, the crime of claiming to be a lawyer in California of which Trumps Press Secretary is being accused comes with a maximum of 1 year in prison OR $1000 dollar fine. $1000 vs 1 year of imprisonment… those are not even comparable for anybody. Even if you are just talking about lack of earning potential for a whole year at minimum wage, we are talking $15,000 losses. And for someone who is pretending to be a lawyer, they were likely making far more than minimum wage. And that is on top of the experience itself of the prison time AND the stigma of having been to prison after your release. Or… you pay $1000. I’m not wealthy, but that fine would be more annoying than punishing to me, and I’m not making lawyer-like money. How are those two things the options for the same crime?
It’s so the government can get their cut for allowing the crime to happen.