On retributive grounds, it is clear that white collar and corporate criminals deserve more punishment than street criminals. Business offenses cause more objective harm than common crimes, they are committed more frequently than common crimes, and public opinion surveys suggest that white collar criminals are perceived as more deserving of severe punishment than street criminals. Pursuing a policy of retributive punishment, however, will do more harm than good for two reasons. First, corporations faced with the prospect of punitive sanctions will endlessly litigate cases in order to avoid punishment. Second, to prevent greater future harm, companies must be provided with incentives to report harmful activities. If companies are prosecuted for every instance of self-disclosure, incentives for self-disclosure would disappear. In dealing with the concept of "just deserts," the author argues that punishment should be used as a mechanism of last resort when there is no other constructive way of solving a social problem. The "just deserts" philosophy only gives the criminal justice system the option of imposing sanctions successfully against the poor and unsuccessfully against the rich. The principle of parsimony offers the latitude to move toward class justice by simultaneously decreasing the punishment of common criminals and increasing that of white collar criminals.