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Harry, I think I just figured out why you and I see things so differently, and why we will probably never agree on this issue. I believe that the majority of people are basically honest, and therefore, don't "pirate" maliciously. You seem to think that if people can get something cheaper by being dishonest about it, they obviously will.
I believe that the ones who are downloading thousands of books, or songs, or movies, or software programs are ones who would never have bought all of that stuff. The ones who would have bought it, if they could afford to, are the ones downloading a few things that they really want to read/hear/watch/use...or in the case of books and software, it may be things that they have to have for a particular class, but can't afford. So the people who are using the pirated material are the ones who can't afford it. The ones who aren't using it never would have bought it anyway...they're essentially hoarders, and may benefit from psychological help. Either way, extremely large fines won't stop either group...the ones who are using the goods will just go bankrupt, and the ones who aren't, have a problem that can't be fixed by any amount of a fine.
Shari
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