Hacker News new | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submit login

It maybe utopian or too liberal, but I'm against imprisonment for any kind of crime against wealth, be it shoplifting or securities/bank fraud on planetary scale. I think prison should be used for crimes against humanity, e.g. homicides, domestic violence, child abuse etc. Let the economic agents figure out how to protect their wealth by themselves by increasing transparency, improving risk controls, monitoring and security protection.

Say you don't want your car stolen, go and get some insurance, let insurance companies figure out how to prevent theft and find stolen cars. Let them figure out how to make stolen cars unusable. It's just an example, but I think it's doable.




Private protection of capital sounds like a terrible idea. Making racketeering and extortion legal (but only if pure money is involved)? No thanks. I want a justice system that punishes someone who steals money behind a desk at least as harshly as someone who steals bread.


But under rodionos' suggestion, it would: stealing bread is also a crime against wealth. Wealth is not just "money".


I have a bank you can deposit your money into and invest through. I also have an insurance company that will guarantee you won't lose a dime with that bank. Trust me.


Imprisonment for bankers doesn't seem to work to well. Too hard to prove. Now if as an alternative if you found with a greater than 50/50 probability that they'd screwed people over you took all their assets that might work. For shoplifters maybe community service.




Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: