Because a rich person can steal 50m and get penalized the same way someone like us would when stealing a paltry sum. Though my comment also implies the rich can easily drag out their court case and afford an army of representation so they don't have to deal with whatever sentence they are getting. Even though the sentence itself is a sham because stealing 50m dollars being punished the same as stealing 5k is obviously a sham.
Those that get a smaller penalty, i.e. those who steal under $5k, are overwhelmingly not wealthy. Wealthy people are not snatching people's purses on the street.
Of course. But the point is that 5k is FAR too low. The difference between stealing 5k and 50m is far greater than the difference between stealing $200 and $5001. Now read all my comments with this in mind and maybe you'll get what we've been saying.
The line at $5000 does not ascribe an equal punishment to crimes below or above that point. It changes the class of offense. The penalty will vary based on circumstances within what those classes allow.
