[matheusmoreira]

Why? Sounds like we should do the opposite.

1. True justice would have been 100% chance of them getting caught. Since it was not 100%, it means they took advantage of some inefficiency in the system in order to get away with it. They should be punished for this disrespect through bigger fines. The less risk there was to them, the bigger the fine.

2. They earned dollars years ago. Today's dollars are worth far less. Therefore the fine, calculated based on that year's profits, must be adjusted upwards to compensate. Just like their profits must be adjusted upwards for inflation in order to make sense of their value in terms of today's dollars.

[hn_go_brrrrr]

You're in agreement. 1/0.5=2

[matheusmoreira]

Oh. You're right. I think I misread the post and replied too impulsively. I apologize.

[webmaven]

You're right about the inflation adjustment (which is separate from a net-present-value adjustment). I guess I was assuming constant-dollars.

To be clear, net-present-value is the bird-in-the-hand principle. A dollar now is worth more to you than a future dollar, EVEN IF YOU ASSUME NO INFLATION.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Net_present_value