https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2015/04/26/1380465/-A-Millionaire-In-Finland-Gets-a-58-000-Ticket-For-Doing-64-In-a-50-MPH-Zone
A
Millionaire In Finland Gets a $58,000 Ticket For Doing 64 In a 50 MPH Zone
by Dartagnan
Finland doesn't mess around when it comes to income inequality.
Just ask Reima Kuisla, a Finnish businessman with an annual income of $7
million. He was recently fined 54,024 euros (about $58,000) for traveling a
modest, if illegal, 64 miles per hour in a 50 m.p.h. zone. And no, the 54,024
euros did not turn out to be a typo.
Mr. Kuisla is a millionaire, and in
Finland the fines for more serious speeding infractions are calculated
according to income. The thinking here is that if it stings for the little guy,
it should sting for the big guy, too.
Traffic fines in Finland, and to a lesser
extent, in other Scandinavian countries, are assessed depending on your income,
through a complex system accessible by police through a one-minute inquiry to
the Finnish tax office: The fines are
calculated based on half an offender’s daily net income, with some
consideration for the number of children under his or her roof and a deduction
deemed to be enough to cover basic living expenses, currently 255 euros per
month.
Then, that figure is multiplied by the
number of days of income the offender should lose, according to the severity of
the offense. Mr. Kuisla was fined for "eight days." If he had made
only $54,000 per year he would have received about a $370 fiine.
The Nordic countries have long had a strong
egalitarian streak, embracing progressive taxation and high levels of social
spending. Perhaps less well known is that they also practice progressive
punishment, when it comes to certain fines.
As
one might expect, Mr. Kuisla did not take the news well, venting
on Facebook to a (for the most part) bemused and unreceptive Finnish audience.
The ticket had its desired effect. Mr. Kuisla, 61, took to Facebook last month
with 12 furious posts in which he included a picture of his speeding ticket and
a picture of what 54,024 euros could buy if it were not going to the state
coffers — a new Mercedes. He said he was seriously considering leaving Finland
altogether, a position to which he held firm when reached by phone at a bar
where he was watching horse races. “The
way things are done here makes no sense,” Mr. Kuisla sputtered, saying he would
not be giving interviews. Before hanging up, he added: “For what and for whom
does this society exist? It is hard to say.”
Actually
it's not that hard to say. Finland boasts one of the most
admired and successful educational systems in the world, with
no tuition fees, highly educated teachers and professors, and fully subsidized
meals for students. Progressive taxation of the wealthy makes that and many
other programs for social good possible:
Finns have one of the world's most generous
systems of state-funded educational, medical and welfare services, from
pregnancy to the end of life. They pay nothing for education at any level,
including medical school or law school. Their medical care, which contributes
to an infant mortality rate that is half of ours and a life expectancy greater
than ours, costs relatively little. (Finns devote 7 percent of gross domestic product
to health care; we spend 15 percent.) Finnish senior citizens are well cared
for. Unemployment benefits are good and last, in one form or another,
indefinitely.
This explains why Mr. Kuisla's highly
publicized indignation has largely been met with indifference by the Finnish
public. While there is general agreement that the fine in this case might be
excessive, there is also acceptance that fines and taxes should continue to be
assessed in a progressive manner based on income. That's because the system
works wonders for the vast majority of the Finnish people. In fact, the general
reaction to Mr. Kuisla's blustering about leaving the country has been to show
him quickly to the door: “This
says a lot about the times when the stinkingly rich can’t even take their fines
for crimes, but are immediately moving out of the country. Farewell, we won’t
miss you,” said one post in The Helsingin Sanomat, a daily newspaper and
website.
Of
course, one can sympathize with Mr. Kuisla to some degree. He's hardly the
first person to have been caught speeding, rich or poor. The fact is, however,
that he should have known better. He was previously hit for an $83,000 fine for
doing 76 in a 50 MPH zone. Courts do take into account mitigating factors
and Mr. Kuisla had that fine reduced to about $7000 U.S., since his
"income" that year was based on a one-time stock sale. A ticket
issued in 2002 assessed a $103,600 fine against a heavy-footed motorcyclist who
blew through Helsinki in too much of a hurry. That ticket was based on an
income of $12 million. Police note that very, very few tickets
of this magnitude are issued, although they acknowledge they do not keep track
of them.
ESL 263
“Millionaire…”
Part 1: Discussion
Questions
1.
What are
“progressive fines?”
The
progressive fines are increasing fines base on their income limit charged to
the person who is breaking the law he or she should deserve , depends on their
intensity that they violate the law.
2. How do
most Finns feel about progressive fines?
3. How do
most Finns feel about Mr. Kuisla?
4. How does
Mr. Kuisla feel about the fine?
5. What are
some benefits of progressive fines/taxation?
6. What are
some problems with progressive fines/taxation?
7. Is the fine that Mr. Kuisla got fair? Why or
why not?
8. What
details show the author’s attitude toward Mr. Kuisla? (extra credit)
Part 2: Paraphrase
the following passages. Use an explanation sentence before it. Then use an
introduction phrase that mentions the title and author:
1. While
there is general agreement that the fine in this case might be excessive, there
is also acceptance that fines and taxes should continue to be assessed in a
progressive manner based on income.
2. The fines are
calculated based on half an offender’s daily net income, with some
consideration for the number of children under his or her roof and a deduction
deemed to be enough to cover basic living expenses, currently 255 euros per
month.
3. They pay nothing for
education at any level, including medical school or law school. Their medical
care, which contributes to an infant mortality rate that is half of ours and a
life expectancy greater than ours, costs relatively little. (Finns devote 7 percent
of gross domestic product to health care; we spend 15 percent.)
Part 3: Vocabulary
practice:
The
following collocations and patterns can be found in the article. Use them to
write your own example sentences.
1. The
medical care, which contributes to an infant mortality…
sth/sb
contributes to sth/sb
2. There is acceptance that fines and
taxes should continue…
acceptance
that s + v.
3. with some consideration for the number
of children…
consideration
for sth/sb
4. He said he was seriously considering
leaving Finland…
be
seriously considering doing sth.
5. the system works wonders for the vast
majority…
sth works
wonders for sth
6. This explains why Mr. Kuisla’s …has
largely been met…
Sth
explains why s + v.
7. Mr.
Kuisla did not take the news well…
Sb. takes
the news well…
Part 4: Topic
Sentence Practice:
Write four
topic sentences in response to the following prompt:
“Are
progressive fines and taxes a good idea for a country?”
Write two
positive topic sentences and two negative topic sentences.
Part 5: Grammar
Review:
1. Find
five passive sentences in the article and change them to active.
2. Find
five active sentences in the article and change them to passive.
