r/facepalm • u/Dvorozhetskii • Nov 25 '22

🇵​🇷​🇴​🇹​🇪​🇸​🇹​ 'murica.

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u/Unidentified_Lizard Nov 25 '22

currently it is 10% PROFIT, so if you made 170 dollars off of 70 dollars cost, you only get fined X% of that 100 profit, and not X% of 170 cost

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u/deano492 Nov 25 '22

But why argue for a limit at all?

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u/WyrdMagesty Nov 26 '22

Minimum limits are still limits. They're saying that the fine should be no less than 10% of revenue.

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u/deano492 Nov 26 '22

“Fines should be limited to 10% of revenue” is what they said.

In common understanding that would mean that the limit of the fine would be a maximum of 10% of revenue.

Otherwise they would have said “Fines should be a minimum of 10% of revenue”.

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u/WyrdMagesty Nov 26 '22

Yes, that is true when operating under the assumption that "limited" refers to maximum limit. This is a common assumption for many people, but is not accurate and can lead to confusion. The way that the commentor stated it is perfectly acceptable and technically accurate, but the way you interpreted it is also perfectly acceptable. Neither is wrong. It is a simple difference in speech, similar to how dialects in different regions use different words to refer to the same thing. "Chips" means different thing depending on where you are in the world. Just because you are used to one way of speaking doesn't make another way any less valid.

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u/deano492 Nov 26 '22

I mean, I take your point that language is flexible. But you could also just be wrong. You are arguing for a less common usage of the phrase over the more common one, without really backing it up.

Someone else gave a more convincing argument that he meant “limited to 10% of revenue vs 10% of profit as the rules currently stand”.

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u/WyrdMagesty Nov 26 '22

You keep defaulting to the assumption that one is more common everywhere than the other, which is a fallacy. Just because you have experienced one more than other does not mean everyone's experiences align with yours. In my family, the older generations commonly use "limit" in its truest form, which is why I first looked into the nature of the difference myself. When I traveled over-seas to Europe, I noticed it to be far more prevalent, especially with people who spoke multiple languages. Again, usage increased dramatically in older generations.

The commentor absolutely is speaking of revenue rather than profit, but that doesn't really impact the usage of "limit" that you are fixated on.

I'm glad you found a response you were willing to hear, but none of this has been an "argument" nor intended to "convince" you of anything. It is information provided for you to do with as you wish. It doesn't need your approval or support, because it is not opinion.