$1.2 billion dollar fine for Toyota, not enough

A penalty of $1.2 billion dollars may seem like a lot, but Toyota’s lack of honesty when it came to known vehicle defects that caused incidences of sudden acceleration and killed a number of individuals from 2007 to 2009 must serve as an example that should have never happened.  Given that this sum is about six percent of Toyota’s $19 billion annual profit, it is significant enough to send a message.  Unfortunately, you cannot jail a company for murder while businesses do not learn.  Businesses act on what their leadership perceives to be the interests of the company as well as their own interests.  Consequently, those who decided to engage in the deliberate and blatant criminal acts involved in this case, which cost people their lives, must be brought to justice as individuals.  While the fine serves as a reminder for Toyota’s decision makers and an incentive for other business leaders to be honest, there are always those who will use a business as a cash cow and make business decisions in order to reap short-term gains.  Holding those responsible at Toyota for criminal acts through criminal and/or civil suits would help heighten the seriousness of this incident and punish those who have little regard for the long-term consequences of their actions.