Thomas, We tend to punish crimes that inflict pain, suffering, and/or death the worst. We also tend to look at the so called 'white collar' crimes with less perceived harm to the rest of us personally, thus low punishment.
This is not the correct way to see these things.
Usually a crime that causes pain/suffering/death is done on one person who suffers the harm. White collar crimes are done to companies and there is a perception that no suffering occurs.
Tell that to the Enron pensioners who must now get by on social security.
So what we have is the perception that white collar crime hurts shareholders, who have money, so no real harm has been done. In truth white collar crime does hurt many smaller people, from workers who lose pensions and jobs to partners of smaller operations who lose in a variable way up to going broke.
This is so bad that the punishment does not fit the crime. A man who makes Enron collapse and causes 10,000 persioners to suffer for the rest of their life should get at least 1-5 years for each sufferer, maybe more. This equates it to an assault with little personal harm done physically, times the number of people assaulted.
Business would squeal and wiggle if that concept in punishment was promulgated.
Let them wiggle, let them squeal, let them not steal.
Bill |
