> In the US, when a wealthy person parks in front of a fire hydrant, we don't give them a $100,000 parking ticket; the fine is scaled to the offense, not the offender.

Really?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liebeck_v._McDonald%27s_Restau...

My personal opinion is that that is the pointa that is probably most broken in the US legal system.

Fines should be penalties for breaking the law. And they should hurt, which means that fines for wealthy persons should be bigger than for less wealthy people, otherwise wealthy people can break law with no practical repercussions. And fines should be paid to the government, not to the victim.

On the other side of the coin, the payments due to damage caused due to illegal activities should just cover the damages and no more to the party that has been the victim of the damage. It is completely ridiculous that you can expect to get wealthy if you can convince a jury that the coffee you bought was too hot.