The author seems to like analogies, so let me try myself. Imagine that I plot a way to break into a bank's vault and walk away with a million dollars. A consideration would be "what will happen if I get caught?" If the answer is "I'll have to return the money, then I can go free" then I might as well try, because worst case scenario I would be just like I was before attempting the robbery. That wouldn't be much of a punishment, would it? Given that scenario, now what would be the consequences of the penalty for breaking any law all being the same? You get the same punishment for speeding, jaywalking, bank robbery, or murder.