If I remember right, Posner thinks that the government should be the recipient of all punitive damage awards.   Justin Schwartz <jkschw@hotmail.com> wrote: <BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #1010ff 2px solid"> >> >>Government agencies can be forced to pay actual damages but not punitive >>damages for >>violating a landmark disabilities law, the court ruled. > > >Why is punitive damages paid by government agencies a good thing? It is >invariably a transfer of public tax monies to private pockets. Very much >different from punitive damages paid by private parties, which usually have >a re-distributive aspect. > >wojtek > The point is not compensation or redistribution but punishment, to say BAD state actor, Don't Do That! Sometimes it's the only thing that gets their attention. jks _________________________________________________________________ Join the world’s largest e-mail service with MSN Hotmail. http://www.hotmail.com </BLOCKQUOTE> <hr size=1>Do Yo! u ! Yahoo!? <a href="http://rd.yahoo.com/welcome/*http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/fc/en/spl">Sign-up for Video Highlights</a> of 2002 FIFA World Cup