… they’re soooo depressing.
This story about a bank getting off light, Wachovia Paid Trivial Fine for Nearly $400 Billion of Drug Related Money Laundering, made me flash back to two recent stories: Why Isn’t Wall Street in Jail? and another article (whose title or link I can’t recall) pointing out the ridiculousness of fining a company trivial amounts for large illegal profits. If the penalty is less than the profit, that’s not a deterrent — it’s a business plan.
Too true. Blockbuster video even discovered that if the fine is just the right amount, the bad behavior increases because the perpetrator is now meeting a legal obligation.