08-12-2008, 06:29 PM
Mark Stapleton Wrote:That's an excellent point, Peter.
The current system of identical fines harshly discriminates against the poor. The standard no parking zone fine in Sydney is about $135, which is a painful penalty for a low income earner but a mere mosquito bite for a millionaire. Hence the penalty is much greater for the poor person, despite the fact the amounts are identical.
Macquarie Street is probably the most salubrious street in the Sydney CBD, with many millionaire stockbrokers, lawyers and specialist doctors. If you walk down this street, you'll see many Porsches, Rollers and other luxury cars and they often have the telltale orange envelope under the windscreen wiper. They obviously don't care about the fines, it's chump change to them---they need the parking spot.
I favor the system used in some Scandanavian countries (I think Sweden and Finland), whereby the fine is commensurate to the wealth of the offender, using net taxable income as the yardstick.
Interestingly, the original parking cops in Australia were disabled or handicapped war veterans, who had trouble getting work. The Government knew they would also be less likely to be the target of verbal or physical abuse, due to their circumstances. However, Governments here and elsewhere eventually saw the potential in the rich income stream these fines could provide and now, as we all know, it's become an industry unto itself.
It's morphed into a cruel system of state sponsored theft. Once again the poor find themselves at the butt end.
I believe it is Finland that uses that system of proportional fines, depending upon your taxable income. Makes sense to me. Yeah, we've all seen the rich-guy with his expensive car parked intentionally without paying the meter - and he doesn't care...while you and I could loose our only means of transport in the blink of an eye. Where I live in Europe, the police do very little OTHER than issue parking fines - as the city gets lots of money and there is no risk to them...unlike real crime - which they are the first to avoid confronting. And you are right, the whole system - from parking fines, library fines, taxes to whatever are in favor of the rich and against the poor - thats almost the definition of capitalism....another failed system....may we see it dead and buried in our lifetime.