Quote:I have zero sympathy for a thief, stealing is stealing I don't care how small the item. He stole beer and got caught, that's not making a mistake it's a conscious decision to take what is not yours from someone else trying to earn a living.
So no, I don't care if it cost him another $200 in fines because he couldn't pay the $75 fee. Maybe if he wasn't a thief and spent more time trying to earn a living instead of steeling beer he could pay the $75 fee, not my problem.
Do you even read a word I say, or do you just react the way you want things to be?
Let's go over your logic.
-No sympathy for a thief! Stealing isn't a mistake!
Yes, stealing is a mistake that people make. Just because you've never been in a situation in which you felt the need to steal something (which is, btw a misdemeanor, and one that is not supposed to carry jail time) doesn't mean that it isn't a mistake. People aren't perfect. I think they teach this somewhere....
-He should have gotten a job!
Don't see what the point of this is, other than to try to paint poor people as criminals and/or lazy. Nevermind the man was obviously in a desperate situation, and was selling his blood to try to make ends meet.
-You don't care that it cost him $200 more in fines
Okay, one... you obviously haven't been reading my posts, or you're misunderstanding them. Because the fine for stealing the beer was $200.00
He got the $75 fee for an ankle bracelet, because he couldn't pay his $200.00
He racked up $1000 -- 5x the original amount in fines
And that's perfectly okay with you, but a graduated system? Oh heaven's no. We can't do that.
-You've also yet to address the cost to taxpayers
--Cost of Sixty days in jail for this man being unable to pay $200: Very High
--Cost of creating a payment plan for him to be able to pay his fine: Much lower
--Putting him in jail for sixty days because he couldn't pay the $75 fee for the tracker? Also Unconstitutional. But who cares, the man's a thief.
So you'd rather spend more money on him spending time in jail for not paying his fines (thus costing the taxpayer more) than postpone his fee or create a payment plan that would allow him to pay it off which would cost the taxpayer less.
Wow. I mean, I thought the Libertarian viewpoint couldn't become even more befuddling, but it just did.