But penalising the prudent and rewarding speculators can, at best, only be part of the process.
They argue that penalising top universities could damage them, and the wider economy, without necessarily benefiting poor students.
For some hardliners, the covenant does not go far enough in penalising liberals.
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Last week lawmakers passed a bill penalising drivers who come to New Mexico with drunk-driving convictions from other states.
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Last year Hazelton, a small Pennsylvania town, began fining landlords who rent to illegal immigrants and penalising employers for hiring them.
The government obviously believes its policy of penalising councils will deliver change.
We think that instead of penalising us the government should invest.
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Jim O'Brien charged in on goal after Zaliukas' attempted clearance had rebounded off the winger's face but referee Winter hauled play back, penalising O'Brien for handball.
Laurence Monnery of Egon Zehnder International, an executive-search firm, reckons that companies should stop penalising people who at some point in their careers have gone part-time.
Moreover, Mr Jagdeo and his advisers insist, any plan to compensate countries for keeping trees must avoid the trap of rewarding past malefactors while penalising the virtuous.
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Since then America has introduced sanctions that target Iran's central bank, the country's main conduit for oil transactions, by penalising any foreign financial institutions doing business with it.
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It also includes plans for a staggered speeding fines and points system, penalising drivers who exceed limits by a wide margin more than those who are caught going just over.
Shadow immigration minister Chris Bryant said politicians should "tackle abuse and not just talk about it", saying his party's proposals for ending student visa loopholes and penalising firms who hire illegal workers were "practical and workable".
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"The ones I've spoken to believe that this is about penalising undermining and community and response officers - your Sharon Beshenivskys, those who might not have any specific skills but are in the front line, " he says.
However, government has a legitimate and vital role to play in supporting an infrastructure encouraging of commerce, setting minimum standards for business conduct, incentivising desirable policies and practices, and penalising those who do not abide by societal norms.
Liberal Democrat Baroness Tonge, a former MP for Richmond Park who moved the amendment to throw out the plans altogether, said that instead of penalising local people to park, "rat runners" should pay a toll "towards the upkeep of the roads".
Irked by what they consider to be the euro zone's habit of rewarding indigence and penalising thrift, and concerned about what they see as a drift towards fiscal union, some senior Slovaks are even threatening to dump the common currency altogether.
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