Would Irish benefit fr Ryanair type regime - rule breaking is punished, not rewarded?

uln

Let’s face it, everyone in Ireland breaks rules regularly. I have heard “respectable middle class” people moan about others being thugs but shouldn’t we all look at ourselves and admit that we are all offenders.


Some examples of offences from a potential list of many:

• We routinely ignore red lights (red seems to mean 2 more cars please, and let’s not started on cyclists!)
• We litter
• We pay cash to avoid VAT

I could go on. All of this bad behaviour negatively impacts on our country – litter impacts tourism, road accidents deprive country of economic benefit that would have been produced by injured/killed victim, litter impacts tourism, unpaid VAT deprives exchequer of much needed revenue etc, etc.


Given the abyss the country is staring into, wouldn’t we all benefit if we all respected rules. To make this happen we would need serious enforcement – some examples of possible punishments:

• Road traffic offenders would have their vehicle confiscated
• Litter offenders serve community service picking up litter

I hope this thread doesn’t become a litany of offences and punishments – that’s why I’ve limited my lists.

Bad behaviour should have consequences, not rewards.

So, should we move to strict enforcement of rules with punishments sufficiently severe to deter bad behaviour? Behaviours would improve.

cml387

Ryanair punishment means a guy 50 miles from where I live would be punished instead of me.

Nodin

I was under the impression Ryanair broke a number of rules themselves.

jester77

uln wrote: »

I could go on. All of this bad behaviour negatively impacts on our country – litter impacts tourism

Keeps the street cleaner employed

uln wrote: »

road accidents deprive country of economic benefit that would have been produced by injured/killed victim

Keeps insurance companies, investigators, emergency services and undertakers employed

uln wrote: »

unpaid VAT deprives exchequer of much needed revenue etc, etc.

Keeps fraud services employed


You would be just taking from one hand to feed another.

The King of Moo

I think so, we let a lot of things slide, and this should also apply to high-level corruption, which we still let go unpunished too often with our "arrah sure fair play to him for getting away with, hah?" attitude.
I worry though that too many people are passive in this country and will go along with the flow, so being strict on punishment could lead to a draconian state where people might grumble a little but no-one would really do anything effective to change things.

Saila

rules are more guidelines than anything

knird evol

You want a State Dictatorship headed up by the board of management of a private airline company, which will enforce strict adherence to Traffic Light signals.
I don't see any problem with that. I'm with ya.

RussellTuring

If you want the country run like Ryanair then:

• The first few people to pay their taxes do it for dirt cheap and are supplemented by the following people who pay through the nose, including extra charges for handing it in, processing, insurance.
  
• If I put a letter in the post it will only get halfway to its destination then have to get a shuttle bus the rest of the way.
  
• My kids will be charged extra for bringing to school a bag that goes over the size limits.

Anyway, the things you mentioned are already punished, if not all the time. It might not be said often, but it's impossible to enforce every law all the time, quite apart from the fact that laws only change people's behaviour in few circumstances. Murder being punishable with execution does nothing to change murder rates in the jurisdictions concerned. So no; totalitarianism is not the answer, thanks very much.

Incidentally, when are people rewarded for breaking red lights, littering or evading tax (apart from those in power, of course)?

policarp

I don't think I'd like to see Michael O'Leary as a dictator of this little country of ours.

irish_goat

jester77 wrote: »

Keeps the street cleaner employed



Keeps insurance companies, investigators, emergency services and undertakers employed



Keeps fraud services employed


You would be just taking from one hand to feed another.

Good logic. I think I should be allowed to go on a killing spree to keep the undertakers employed.