My biggest peeve with the trial lawyer industry has been the practice of giving the lawyers and the plaintiffs the money from punitive damages. If they’re punitive they’re not compensatory and therefore the plaintiff has no special claim on them. Why not give the money to charity or to a fund to fix the problem being punished or give it back to the consumer in the form of tax rebates. Whatever. Well, Gov. Schwarzenegger’s proposing a 75% tax on punitive damages. (Nod to Instapundit). Jonathan? Ramesh? Is there a reason we shouldn’t like this idea?