What, you ask, isn't this a gross exageration? No, when you consider that virtually all legislation which contains a dollare amount is not indexed! For example, the Occupational Health and Safety Act of 1970 established penalties, in section 17. Here is subsection a:
(a) Any employer who willfully or repeatedly violates the requirements of section 5 of this Act, any standard, rule, or order promulgated pursuant to section 6 of this Act, or regulations prescribed pursuant to this Act, may be assessed a civil penalty of not more than $70,000 for each violation, but not less than $5,000 for each willful violation.
The penalty amounts were updated in 1990, from $10,000 to the current $70,000. Accounting for inflation, the amount would have grown to $33,685 if indexed, so the new 1990 amount was more than double, creating a great dis-incentive. Today, however, to keep the same weight, the penalty should be adjusted to $116,785. However, Congress fails, month after month, to simply index such legislation so that it automatically continues to have the same weight and impact on violations.
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics maintains an Inflation Calculator, so it would be simple to attach all fines to this Calculator, by law. Instead, they continue to pass legislation that loses bite, year after year. Ridiculous.
US Inflation Calculator
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