Quote:
Originally Posted by The Girl
To answer Michael's question about what should have been my punishment for not paying an old ticket:
This is hard to answer because the more I think about it, the more I think they made up that I had that ticket. I never saw evidence of it. The judge and attorney seemed somewhat confused by why I was there. I never got a chance to hear what I really did or speak my mind about it.
BUT let's say I didn't pay the ticket. That could have happened by accident or they could have not gotten my payment. (Terrible system that I can get a new (not renewed... a brand new) gov't issues license plus more than one visit to the DMV AND their site and this didn't come up even though it's directly related.)
Let's say someone neglects to pay. It's very likely that they don't have the money to pay such a large amount. That's probably why they committed such a crime to begin with. Then there's financial penalties that keep adding up.
So, what do you do with petty crimes that people can't afford or neglect?
If I HAD to say right now even though it's not my job to come up with these kinds of solutions for a terrifying system that doesn't have any issue with treating people like shit because the whole system is really garbage so asking me to start with punishment is hard buuuuut:
What about he makes me aware that there's a 15 year old ticket in my name? He gives me info to a clear website and phone number that I can call. I need to call them within 30 days to discuss what's possible. Let's say that's court. I should choose a day that fits my schedule. (I don't see anything wrong with having night court either. Our govt seems to think that working hard/late is admirable. They don't see working the night shift as a punishment.)
If I don't respond in 30 days, I should be in bigger trouble. That's when a fine can start. A LOW fine! Remember "it's not about the money". It's about the crime, right? A $20 fine is not nothing. Don't forget that these are the same people that think people can live comfortably on $7.25 (PRE-TAX) an hour. So, that brings me to the thought of maybe the fine should be a sliding scale?
For those who think I'm being too easy on people who break the law, please please take into consideration: humanity. That we, as humans, will always be criminals in this system. Not just hippy/rebel me. It's you. You are the same to these people unless you can help them financially. And if you don't think that's a fact, then we are not starting from a true place.
|
Lots of good points. Here are two comments.
1) I think it is your job to help come up with a solution for the terrifying system that doesn't have issue with treating people like shit. It's all our of jobs. All citizens should be involved with this decision process.
2) It's interesting that you suggest a sliding scale. Finland has implemented something like that and fined someone over $100,000 for speeding
https://www.theatlantic.com/business...ticket/387484/