Limited liability doesn't protect you from the value of a stock being wiped out. Lehman Brothers was a limited liability corporation but anyone holding their st

Limited liability doesn't protect you from the value of a stock being wiped out. Lehman Brothers was a limited liability corporation but anyone holding their stock during the bankruptcy was still stuck with worthless stock or debt that they couldn't recover in the proceedings. The current fine mechanisms are inadequate and can't properly realign incentives against breaking laws that carry civil penalties, especially in a case as blatant as VW's cheating. Perhaps increase fees/taxes on "toxic" shares in companies that have broken significant laws with intent or maybe force these companies to settle by issuing diluting stock that goes to agencies responsible for cleaning up the mess. Or even tax revenue instead of profit on these toxic shares which would create a huge incentive, especially for executives and large stock holders. The point is to tweak and realign incentives, it doesn't have to be passing on extreme financial liability to shareholders. Most investors can't take a huge hit on their portfolio like a company with tens or hundreds of billions of dollars of revenue can.