Who Knew that Cutting Government Spending Increases Crime?
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2011 Nov 13, 4:41am 1,197 views 5 comments
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Crime is more of a social issue it doesn't really have a connection with taxation. Any country that is collapsing would probably have higher crime. Also what is being described is violent crime which naturally gets reported more than anything non violent.
http://www.columbian.com/news/2011/sep/19/fbi-violent-crime-down-by-6-in-2010/
Crime can go down or up for a number of reasons. If we make a general assumption that it is say males between 18-40 well then when they get older they'd be less apt to do it.
It also depends on what "crime" is. What is legal in one state might not be legal in another.
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2011 Nov 13, 11:09am
Crime is more of a social issue it doesn't really have a connection with taxation.
Christ, conservatives in their cloud-cuckoo ideological purity are just totally disconnected from the real world.
Government spending serves as crucial redistribution of monetary wealth and just basic public goods into communities that don't enjoy net positive wealth creation opportunities.
Cut that and the system goes centrifugal. Pressures build. People get stabby.
But how are you defining public goods?
In the UK why did people riot if they have free health care and free education?
Most government services at least in the USA are on a local level not a federal or state level (capital and state capitals being an exception).
You can talk about government distribution of wealth and that's fine but wealth of what. You are not citing specifics here.
Look at the 1990's. Clinton performed welfare reform (signed it into law). It cut welfare benefits by putting them on a time line. Crime didn't go up...much of the reforms were based on what we did in Mass. Yes there were protests at the statehouse but they ended and generally there were few complaints.
Of course there will be those that might threaten things if they are cut. The AARP will easily go out in mass droves for anyone that advocates cutting social security or medicare. You can argue that since there is no AARP for the younger generation that violence might be the only outlet.
There are far more repercussions today with crime than in the past. Drug tests started from a tad to now nearly every employer (1980's onward). Criminal background checks are the norm. Video cameras are the norm. ID badges are common...heck one of my last employers now has hand prints to get in the door. I would argue that any form of crime that is physical in nature causing violence frankly isn't worth it. White collar crime on the other hand....
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2011 Nov 14, 5:23am
In the UK why did people riot if they have free health care and free education?
"The news came, and the fires followed. On Dec. 9, sometime after 5 p.m., Britain's Parliament passed a bill to triple university tuition fees to $15,000. Within minutes, peaceful student demonstrations descended into chaos, and Parliament Square — home to Big Ben and Westminster Abbey — transformed into ground zero."
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2036392,00.html
You can talk about government distribution of wealth and that's fine but wealth of what. You are not citing specifics here.
Wealth as in that which is needed to be a happy person. Personal Safety. Food. Shelter. Health care. Clothing. Transportation. Entertainment. That 'hierarchy of needs' jazz.
It cut welfare benefits by putting them on a time line. Crime didn't go up...
The economy was creating 3M+ jobs a year . . .
http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/graph/?g=3le
You can argue that since there is no AARP for the younger generation that violence might be the only outlet.
Well, not "violence" -- crime. Specifically, property crime, then eventually crap like kidnapping.
Like how things are in other third-world shitholes with horrendous wealth distribution.
Again, to even think that the fucked urban communities in this country is at all parallel to AARP is just indicative of how utterly disconnected you are from reality.
Well those in AARP vote...
If you don't vote then you simply don't have a say. Yeah some might be dismissive on the national level but on the local there clearly can be a sway.
Maslows stuff I can see with housing to a point but the government doesn't really feed people en masse outside of the school lunch program. Yes there's food stamps but that's really not enough to feed a family.
Personal safety is up to the individual as it is impossible for the government or any government for that matter to keep everyone 100% safe. Clothing is pretty cheap these days, no one is naked (against their choice) in the western world. It's not the governments responsibility to entertain us (jokes aside). I highly doubt cuts in PBS would lead someone to take up arms. Transportation can be an issue but that's more local in scope. Subway systems are a lifeblood but the volume that take Amtrak every day for work is not as high.
Regarding the UK rioting isn't going to solve anything..heck it doesn't solve anything period. Now if it is food in time of emergency (hurricane katrina) I can understand but getting clothing or electronics doesn't really work. Vancouver rioted due to losing to the Bruins...how does looting the apple store help the team?
Get out of the fortress man...
I mean, who could have seen this coming?
Greeks Vexed By Growing Crime
With a struggling economy, massive austerity measures and increasing uncertainty, crime is surging in parts of Greece. This has sparked a boom for some in the private security business. Greek officials are considering plans to make the streets of Athens safer.
A few steps from the National Archaeological Museum in Athens, where visitors gawk at statues of Zeus and other ancient treasures of antiquity, a man crouches under a tree, wraps a rubber band around his arm and shoots up heroin.
Nearby, dirty streets are congested with drug sellers and buyers. Athenians say that cases of drug trafficking, prostitution, murder, thefts, burglaries, petty crime and illegal immigration have all increased as the Greek economy contracts.
Locals say they are seeing more signs of societal strain, with unemployment having risen to 16.3 percent in the second quarter -- up from 12 percent a year ago. Graffiti and shuttered store fronts speckle the winding downtown streets of Athens. Stray dogs and cats, some discarded by families unable to feed them, roam neighborhoods. With refuse workers often on strike these days, it is not uncommon for garbage to pile up on the streets, providing a feast for stray animals. Meanwhile, an uptick in muggings and armed robberies of even gated homes in Athens suburbs has proven deeply unsettling for Greece's middle and upper classes.
"The city's historic centre and other major areas are suffering desertification, all manner of criminal activity and manifestations of violence, insecurity, lawlessness, the impoverishment of significant numbers of people -- both native inhabitants and foreign nationals, illegal prostitution and illegal drug trading," the Athens City Council said in a statement.
"Almost a quarter of the Athenian city center is now considered off-limits by night for those unwilling to risk their valuables and, in some cases, their personal security," wrote Ioannis Michaletos, in a report for Balkanalysis.com, a site that provides research on Greece. "Athens has become arguably the worst city in the European Union (especially within the euro-zone countries) in terms of personal safety."
http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,796733,00.html
If your jealous, don't worry. We will soon see the same thing right here in the U.S. Welcome to Jim DeMint's America!
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