Crime: What to do?

Crime, generally speaking, is often associated with socioeconomic conditions.

Economic liberty, access to quality education, and access to quality healthcare will do far more to prevent crime than police, more jails, more laws, or any other onerous policy.

The US has a government controlled health insurance scheme that is massively expensive, and in many cases, cost prohibitive. That's not the same as access to quality healthcare.

The US Government currently has 78,000 plus pages worth of codified taxes, plus onerous financial regulations that only serve to enrich those corporations who write their own regulations. That's not a fair system and it sure as hell isn't an example of economic liberty.

Education is a key component among the other three that contribute greatly to reduce the level of poverty, and by extension criminal activity, that ensnares the poor and uneducated.

These things DO matter. People who are educated, healthy, and have less red tape between them and their ability to either make a living working or start their own enterprise, don't regularly turn to crime.

It's not about excusing criminal behavior. It's about addressing the root causes of criminality. There will always be some crime you can't do anything about other than jail them or kill them. But the vast majority of crimes in this country involve some kind of property crime or robberies.

The more you educate a society the better the prospects are for the people as a whole, but also for the individual who, as a result, will actually be aware of other choices.

It's a matter of fighting ignorance.

That said, I can't argue that we don't have serious discipline deficiency issues.

I do know what the results of stable education, economics, and other factors will do for a people(Japan comes to mind), and what the opposite will do(Afghanistan for me).

Frankly I just don't know how to get there. We are certainly a product of our choices. But if we could somehow broaden the horizons of those who simply don't know better.

I grew up in rough neighborhoods and went to rough schools run by gangs. The pressure to belong just to make it through the day without getting your ass kicked is intense. The best way for many is to continue the cycle of ingratiating themselves to the least of who they really are.

When you have generational cycles of crime and dependency, you have to break those cycles, not just throw your hands up and relegate so many to the trash bin of society. Not all hope is lost and there are plenty of people exposed to these situations who just need a hand up.

At the end of the day, no matter how awful a crime, we have to bear in mind that the people who do this are a tiny and aberrant minority. Most people are good and want good for themselves and others. We should be seeking to free the least among us so they can become the most among us. We must free people from ignorance, from economic oppression, and from these cycles of dependency(whether government, drugs, or crime) or we can face a future of socioeconomic instability.

Thanks for reading.

a reply to: projectvxn

Legalize Corporal punishment.

originally posted by: SpecialSauce
a reply to: projectvxn

Legalize Corporal punishment.

I'd think that these issues go far beyond beating your kids.

a reply to: projectvxn

I'm not so sure it is not beyond beating the parents though.

If a dog sh!ts on my lawn, sure I'll shoo the dog away, however should the owner be near by well ..... ?

Kind Regards
Myselfaswell

a reply to: projectvxn

That's just child abuse, I'm talking about the state inflicting pain on law breakers. The Constitution says it's illegal but it's been misconstrued into saying execution should be painless. Ever heard of death of a thousand cuts? There have been many advances in torture. The cia tortured terrorists so it's basically an unenforced law. The word oppression is often misused but oppression means torture.

a reply to: SpecialSauce

What the hell are you going on about?

When did the op become about beating people and torture?

Get a grip.

a reply to: projectvxn

When the hell did playing loud music in prison 24-7-365 mean beating people or child abuse? Get a grip yourself

Keep your guns in a safe loaded by your bed. Leave it open at night. Any intruders comming up my stairs get a shot to the heart from a 357 mag or a 50 Calibur mag. Which ever I grab first

a reply to: projectvxn
Don't listen to those posters who think trimming a weed will stop it from growing. I know you are talking about the root problem.

And you are right, the cause is generally socio-economic, with the exceptions wherein wealth does not indicate morality. Some individuals steal et al despite being rich. Then it becomes more of a power trip.

The answer, methinks, lies in providing adequate opportunities for our kids, and leaving them with a prosperous world. Having hope and purpose will prevent them from desperation, which leads to the negative aspects of society. Unfortunately most people only think of themselves and short term at that. The truth is, helping others benefits the self in the end. We should also teach them the strength in self-reliance, which can help them break the cycle as is.

a reply to: SargonThrall

Thank you.

As I said you can't stop all crime. Some people really do just want to watch the world burn regardless of the opportunity or privilege afforded to them.

Simple crimes get you banned from the tribe until you make square.
Worse crimes mean you best leave town.

Crime is the result of having a cast system; Small percentage of elite with a yuggge population of poor and working poor in a very violent culture with cheap and available firearms.

You reap what you sow....

Invest in private prisons....the problem is going to get worse....much worse. Capitalism at it's most grotesque.

a reply to: projectvxn

Step One: Review EVERY SINGLE LAW on the books for its merit, then review the punishment associated with said law and its merit.

We have way too many "crimes" in America that are relatively victimless. Start with removing them from the books, and we'll see exactly how many true "criminals" actually exists in our society.

ETA: Please understand that there are myriad "roots" to the problem of what makes an individual willfully violate laws, but my point still stands: The title of "criminal" is relative to the society that writes the laws, and our society has constantly added laws and laws and laws without asking, really, if individuals REALLY should be criminalized because of the behavior.

a reply to: projectvxn

One of the roots of the problem is people having kids they're unwilling to or incapable of taking care of.

Let's limit capable parents to two or three max, and the incapable to zero.

I'd be interested to see the impact on crime a few generations later.

a reply to: Urantia1111

Yes let's limit biological processes and violate rights via Chinese-like policy.

Shhh. The adults are talking.

a reply to: olaru12

The word is Caste system.

You obviously don't understand how a caste systems works.

Im trying to address real problems here.

originally posted by: projectvxn
a reply to: olaru12

The word is Caste system.

You obviously don't understand how a caste systems works.

Im trying to address real problems here.

Im trying to address real problems here as well. Perhaps a few lessons in decorum and manners would be a good place to start.

Let's start with ending snarky, cute little insults like .....

Shhh. The adults are talking.

This isn't the mud pit!

perhaps ultimately it boils down to "respect"

a reply to: olaru12

Spot on.

America has a crime problem that is without question. In other wealthy western countries, the vast majority are Socialist Capitalist Democracies. The difference in these countries is that the poorest still have a decent standard of living and access to free good quality further education. Getting a university place is based on grades not how much some one can pay.

The poverty in America is far worse than any other western country I have visited and you have the biggest prison populace of any western country as well. The two are linked.

The amount of money that America has as an economy, it's ridiculous that there are people in such poverty.

To give perspective. The people of the U.K have been on the backs of the U.K government for the last 4 years because there has been a sharp rise in people using food banks. We see it as disgusting that anyone should have to resort to using food banks, it meant that the benefits system wasn't adequately providing for people.

The biggest reason behind the increase was that the government started sanctioning people on benefits for missing appointments and they would stop their benefit payments for 2 weeks. This was causing people to go into extreme hardship so they were using food banks to survive.

So poverty in the U.K is a far cry from poverty in the U.S.

a reply to: olaru12

When you talk about violating natural rights?

What discussion is there that would be fruitful?

You don't want solutions, you want Final Solutions.

When you talk about how we have a Caste system you obviously don't understand I have a problem with that.