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by Pungsnigel 2128 days ago
Is it even legal?
1 comments

That doesn't mean it actual is legal. There are state and federal laws, not to mention the state and federal constitutions, that have higher precedence.
Maybe we ought to change our laws to account for the super rich who can just bypass most penalties using their wealth or connections.
The existing legal framework provides for increasing fines and even criminal charges for repeated violations, and has already been successfully used against rich and poor alike for noise, fire & safety, occupancy rules etc. There's absolutely no need for new "tools" to deal with this. Any calls for additional powers should be viewed with extreme suspicion and scepticism.
I remember listening to some podcast, it was something about inequality or etc doesn't matter.

As part of it this woman was to interview some rich guy.

He offered to do it over a dinner and picked her up in his lambo.

When they arrived there was no free space so he parked in the disabled space. When she mentioned that to him he replied.

"Don't worry its a $400 parking space"

The thing is he is not wrong.

There are myriad of stories of companies making millions cheating and when caught paying thousands in fines.

Thats not a deterrent but attractor of bad behaviour.

The fines meant to be fines - something that stings and burns - and not get out of jail free for one's who can afford it.

This is why repeated violations of the more serious ordinances can result in criminal charges. It's not so easy to shrug off a criminal conviction, possible jail time, and a criminal record. Criminal fines don't have the same limits as civil fines. Judges can make it really hurt.
Yeah, you tell yourself that.
If someone has the power to do an end-run around the criminal justice system, they'll certainly have the power to get around a municipal utilities shutoff order.

In the worst case scenario, they could just order a few trucks of bottled water alongside the kegs, and set up a portable generator. Shouldn't cost more than 20 grand or so.

And so what has this new enforcement tool actually done against the belligerent hyper-rich? And in exchange, what danger does it present to the poor?