Ritalin InviteesInstead of reporting on the dollar amounts of corporate fines, the news should just say how many minutes of profit the fine represents. "The EPA slapped Apple with a two second fine," is much more honest.
River@intransitivelie depends on the crime of course, but if we're talking about businesses (not CEOs), a big thing to remember is that oftentimes, "the process is the punishment" i.e. the fact that a whole case against a company like Microsoft is being deliberated out in a public court is just incredibly damaging to the company, even if nothing comes of it.
The world becomes aware of their crimes, and the company self regulates it's ambitions in order to avoid more trouble, lest it be dragged back into court.