We keep hearing that the law is the same for everyone. A beautiful phrase! Except it’s just a myth. And the clearest proof of inequality before the law is undoubtedly the flat fine system. Simply because the amounts are the same for everyone. But obviously, the consequences are not at all the same whether you’re rich or poor. For many citizens, paying a fine is a real struggle… while for others, the punishment is as trivial as leaving a small tip. This odd concept raises a serious question! Is this really the kind of absurdity we’re supposed to expect from justice? I seriously doubt it! So let’s try to understand this problem and, at the same time, find some solutions.

One offense, two very different lives

To illustrate my point, here’s an all-too-common situation: imagine a single mom working two jobs. Altogether, she earns only $1,100 a month. One evening, she’s late to pick up her kids from school. Without thinking, she drives over the speed limit. And then, BAM! A cop pulls her over and hands her a $220 ticket. For her, that means two weeks less grocery money. End result: she’s left in tears.

Now, let’s take the case of a millionaire in a sports car. He feels invincible and floors the gas for a quick adrenaline rush. And just to be clear, it’s the same speeding violation as in the previous case. Same offense, same punishment! A cop stops him and hands him the same $220 ticket. The driver smiles because, compared to his fortune, that was a cheap price to pay for a bit of fun. His fridge will stay full all month long. End result: the little incident is quickly forgotten.

From these two examples, there’s no denying that a violation was committed. And there’s no denying either that speeding is a danger to everyone. On that, we agree. But it’s also clear that the impact of the punishment was not at all the same for both drivers. Which makes it a blatant injustice! And personally, I find that deeply shocking. Outrageous!

When corporations laugh at their fines

Big companies may look like they’re paying a lot when they get fined: 20 million, 200 million… On paper, it sounds huge! But for them, it’s just a drop in an ocean of profits. Because when they get fined, it’s not a punishment, it’s just a line item already planned in their budget.

Take Google or Facebook, for example. These companies thrive entirely on exploiting the most intimate personal data. That’s illegal in Europe and immoral everywhere. So every now and then, there’s a long trial… which ends with a fine. And then what? Nothing changes! These companies just keep raking in profits as if nothing happened. Why? Because paying a fine is always cheaper than changing very lucrative practices… especially since these corporations also practice tax “optimization” so they don’t pay their fair share of taxes. By “tax optimization” read “scamming the IRS.” Which means less money for public services.

And just to make it crystal clear, imagine me collecting private information about my neighbors to resell to local shops. For example, I saw David this morning talking with his neighbor. So I secretly pulled out my sound amplifier to listen in on their conversation. That way, I overheard him say he wanted to buy a new pair of sneakers. I then sold the info to the little shoe store at the end of my street. Which allowed the store manager to slip a flyer for discounted sneakers into David’s mailbox.

Of course, this kind of spying might last for a while. But sooner or later, I’d get caught and one of my neighbors would press charges for invasion of privacy. Once the story went public, other residents in the neighborhood would join the lawsuit. Inevitably, I’d have to go to trial. I’d already be ruined by legal fees. Then, at the end of the trial, the judge would hit me with a massive fine plus a suspended prison sentence. End result: I wouldn’t be doing that again anytime soon!

See where I’m going with this little story? The difference in treatment is gigantic depending on whether you’re powerful or just an ordinary citizen. And it’s not only Big Tech. Chemical industries polluting rivers, banks committing fraud, multinationals acting like they’re above the law… In the end, it’s always the same story. A fine, and business goes on as usual. Too big to bring down, or so they say.

And while we’re at it… where does this famous “too big to fail” come from? Answer: straight from those very same corporations, blackmailing us! According to them, they can knowingly commit the worst abuses… but we mustn’t punish them, because if they went under, it would supposedly be the end of the world. What a bunch of crooks!

Stop taking us for fools! Everyone knows nature abhors a vacuum. In reality, a company that falls is quickly replaced by another. So if penalties were properly enforced for everyone, we wouldn’t have ended up in this intolerable situation where we’re defenseless against corporations behaving like ruthless predators.

The example of countries with fairer fines

Some countries realized early on that flat fines are absurd because they don’t affect everyone the same way. In this field, Finland was a pioneer. As early as 1921, it introduced the “day fines.” That’s the name of a system where the penalty is proportional to the offender’s income.

Here’s how it worked: the fine was calculated in two steps. First, the court set the number of fine-days based on the seriousness of the offense. Then it looked at the offender’s daily disposable income to set the final amount. The calculation used tax data, taking into account expenses and the minimum subsistence level that couldn’t be touched.

In practice, this old system runs very smoothly. But today, thanks to technology, everything is easier and much faster. Finnish police officers now have direct access to tax databases. Which means that during a traffic stop, they can type in the driver’s ID on their tablet and instantly get their net daily income. From there, the fine amount is automatically calculated according to the fine-day scale set by law. End result? No need to wait long for a court hearing. The penalty is applied in real time, greatly easing the burden on the judicial system.

So naturally, this system has led to some spectacular cases! In 2002, a Nokia executive paid $125,000 for driving 15 mph over the limit. In 2009, another businessman got hit with a $120,000 ticket for a similar violation. And in 2023, a wealthy driver was fined $68,500, directly calculated on the spot using his tax data.

Switzerland also applies a similar logic and even holds a world record! In 2010, a multimillionaire driver had to pay $312,000 for speeding. Again, same principle: a penalty should have a real impact.

In the end, opinion polls show that most citizens support this model because it ends the hypocrisy of a fake equality.

What if we stepped out of the “always pay” logic?

Pay, pay again, always pay! Why always reduce justice to money when another path exists? I’m talking about community service sentences. Here’s how it works: say you were speeding and got stopped by the police. But instead of a fine, depending on the seriousness of the offense, you spend X days helping in a rehab center for road accident victims. In this case, the punishment becomes truly educational, whether you’re a billionaire or broke. In the end, repeat offenses drop dramatically, and society as a whole benefits.

Maybe you think this is just a theoretical idea. Well, think again! This principle already exists in several countries, including France, which has applied community service (TIG) since 1983 as an alternative to prison or fines.

In practice, community service means working for free for the benefit of the community. It can be for an association, a hospital, city services, environmental protection… In short, a whole range of possibilities chosen by the judge depending on the offense. In Spain, the system is similar, and in Canada they call it “community service orders.”

In the end, studies all clearly show that this kind of punishment has a double effect. First, people understand community service as being fairer than just paying a fine. Second, it greatly reduces repeat offenses. Because confronting offenders directly with the social consequences of their actions has a much stronger impact than just writing a check.

Flat fines are just one symptom of a society sick with injustice

The problem with flat fines is far from isolated. In reality, it’s just the reflection of a much deeper issue: our society is built on a permanent injustice between the rich and the poor. And this injustice goes way beyond traffic violations. You see it in healthcare, where access to quality treatment still too often depends on your wallet. You see it in education, where kids from wealthy families have every chance to enter the best schools while others are left with second-rate paths. You see it in taxation, where multinationals pay proportionally far less than an ordinary worker. And these are just a few examples…

The worst part is that all these injustices poisoning our daily lives have ended up being accepted as some kind of normality. And it’s precisely this fake sense of normality that blocks any positive change. So why not imagine a different global model? With today’s technology, it’s absolutely possible to design a system where transparency and fairness are guaranteed. For example, by relying on algorithms. But that’s just one example among many—we’ll soon be proposing plenty of other alternatives that are far fairer than the current system. So stay tuned by joining the forum on NovaFuture to keep up with new content. And of course, you’re welcome on the forum if you want to exchange ideas in a space far friendlier than toxic social media.

Conclusion – Be the change you want to see in this world

The injustice of flat fines and the impunity of corporations are huge problems we can no longer accept with resignation. Because these inequalities we see every day end up crushing our morale and our collective ability to build a fairer society.

But it’s not inevitable! There’s a very simple solution summed up in the Latin phrase “Vox populi, vox dei!”… which means: what the people want, God wants! In other words, if enough of us say loud and clear that we’ve had enough of injustice, politicians will quickly be forced to defuse the anger by changing laws to make them fairer. The solution really is that simple.

But how do we do it? The simplest way is to share this post widely on your social networks and talk about this problem openly in real life. To make it quick and easy, you’ll find share buttons at the bottom of this article. And if you’re a content creator, even better! Talk about this topic in a podcast, a YouTube video, on your blog… It doesn’t matter! What really counts is letting the ideas circulate. Because that’s what keeps democracy healthy. And it’s also exactly what makes our everyday problems a little more bearable.

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See you soon for brand new articles even hotter than this one 🙂 In the meantime, feel free to browse through our archives, because there’s already plenty to read, reflect on, and act upon.