Althouse: "Crime and the great recession: Jobs have fled, lawbreaking hasn’t risen..."

August 28, 2011

"Crime and the great recession: Jobs have fled, lawbreaking hasn’t risen..."

"... and criminologists are scratching their heads. I credit Internet porn and videogames. Is there anything they can’t do?"

49 comments:

madAsHell said...: It's a crisis going to waste!!; 8/28/11, 9:29 AM
FleetUSA said...: America is older and wiser.; 8/28/11, 9:32 AM
ricpic said...: Flash mobs are chopped liver?; 8/28/11, 9:57 AM
pellehDin said...: The crime has moved off the streets and into the Administration. Meanwhile, the street criminals are so in awe at what is going down in DC that they feel it's inadequate to pull off a trivial heist or rape.; 8/28/11, 10:00 AM
edutcher said...: Maybe there's less to steal.; 8/28/11, 10:10 AM
Phil 314 said...: The guys from "Freakonomics" previously wrote on the lack of a clear reason for the drop in crime. The phenomenon sure plays to our preferred narrative.; 8/28/11, 10:10 AM
AllenS said...: More people have guns and the criminals know it.; 8/28/11, 10:12 AM
Writ Small said...: Unfortunately for pro-lifers, it's mostly due to Roe vs. Wade.; 8/28/11, 10:27 AM
The Crack Emcee said...: Reynolds ain't as funny as he thinks.; 8/28/11, 10:27 AM
The Dude said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 8/28/11, 10:35 AM
Writ Small said...: If Crack could figure out who his mother is, then perhaps he could become a full fledged bastard instead of merely a racist orphan.

I'm not sure the gentleman who wrote that all crime where he used to live was committed by blacks should be lecturing people on racism.; 8/28/11, 10:54 AM
The Dude said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 8/28/11, 10:59 AM
edutcher said...: Writ Small said...

Unfortunately for pro-lifers, it's mostly due to Roe vs. Wade.

He hasn't heard of the Roe Effect.; 8/28/11, 11:16 AM
bagoh20 said...: Sixty Grit is the only one here who has the courage to say what he believes, even if it makes him look stupid. Well, Garage Mahal is pretty brave too. Someone has to take such steps to bring some clarity to the discussion.; 8/28/11, 11:35 AM
Paul said...: Here in Texas we a) have alot more jobs due to not TAXING THE STUFFINGs OUT OF EVERYONE!, And b) lots of Texans pack heat.

I have no idea way states like NY, California, and Michigan have not had crime rise... or have they and the powers-to-be just fudge the stats? Or maybe the governments are just using welfare to pay them to just sit there.

But do note that 49 of the 50 states do have CCW permits now in one form or another.; 8/28/11, 11:51 AM
AllenS said...: Maybe the police, especially in the larger urban areas, just aren't reporting everything bad going on. Kinda like the school teachers fudging the numbers on their students tests. It wouldn't surprise me.; 8/28/11, 12:04 PM
Rialby said...: I'm betting it's a combination of several factors - the Roe effect, the impact of non-stop entertainment options on the formerly restless populations AND the loosening of morality among a female population. It was probably harder to get laid 50-60 years ago then it is today. Now, in a post-feminist America, nearly every young girl wants to maximize her attractiveness during her peak breeding years (16-30) so it's much easier for an angry young man to vent his frustrations through random, anonymous sex.; 8/28/11, 12:22 PM
Rialby said...: By Roe Effect - I meant the Freakonomics take, not the Taranto take.; 8/28/11, 12:23 PM
Writ Small said...: You see, writ small, Ass Crack is a virulent new age racist who has called a number of other people racists here before, so I am just returning the favor.

I've seen two instances where Crack insinuated racism. In once case, you, it was following your statement that blacks commit all crime. You provided the ammo. If you had even added the word "nearly," I'd say Crack owed you an apology.

In the other case, it was a gentleman who said that black men marrying outside their race was a contributing factor to high crime. Again, Crack was sufficiently provided.

What did Crack say that justifies your return of fire? I haven't seen it.; 8/28/11, 12:31 PM
William said...: Human behavior is learned behavior and is dependent upon the mores of the society in which we live. In the nineteenth and early twentieth century most middle class women and a surprising number of middle class men did not have sex before marriage. If an instinct as basic as sexuality can be curtailed, so can crime. Crime is not some kind of instinctive response to inequality or unemployment. It is a choice that occurs to young men, and that choice is influenced by the choices of those other young men around them.; 8/28/11, 12:37 PM
William said...: One other theory: what with credit cards and atms, very few people carry sufficient cash to make the crime worth the time. The Social Security checks are deposited directly to the bank, so that lucrative source of income has also dried up. Most people don't even wear wrist watches anymore. Mugging, while it has some value as a sport, is simply no longer a reliable source of income....Also it should be noted that many criminals have become obese and can no longer move with the bursts of speed that a successful smash and grab entails.; 8/28/11, 12:49 PM
rcocean said...: Several reasons. One its more difficult to commit certain crimes today because of DNA, cell phones, video surveillance.

Two, except for the aging boomer hippies and the limousine liberals most Americans want criminals locked up and punished - and it much of the USA that's what happens.

Third, the poor and well-to-do are more segregated than ever. Even middle class people can now insulate themselves from street crime - unless they go to a State fair.; 8/28/11, 1:05 PM
Anonymous said...: Perhaps poverty does not cause crime; crime causes poverty.

Just a thought.; 8/28/11, 1:40 PM
Robert Cook said...: Lawbreaking has become normalized--made virtually legal by default.

As evidence, see the failure by government even to investigate Wall Street and the financial institutions for their staggering financial crimes of theft and fraud of recent years, much less to indict or prosecute. Similarly, there has been a blanket unofficial pardon of members of government for their part in war crimes, mass murder, torture, illegal electronic surveillance of American citizents, and other ancillary crimes of the last decade. This unofficial blanket pardon was announced by President O. as "looking forward, not backward."

It's easy to claim crime statistics are low when crimes are defined out of existence, whether by fiat or by simply pretending they haven't taken place.; 8/28/11, 1:40 PM
traditionalguy said...: Is stealing copper and other metal objects a crime?

If so, then the rate is way up.; 8/28/11, 2:00 PM
Jose_K said...: Unfortunately for pro-lifers, it's mostly due to Roe vs. Wade
wrong. Abortion was legal in Gotham since 1950. it was a part of the rationale for Roe vs Wade. Rich people can go where abortion is legal while poor people dont so there was an unequeal treatment.
Why poor people did not started to take abortion before the times of Fort Apache and the blackout?
The cause: easier access to arms; 8/28/11, 2:16 PM
Jose_K said...: Human behavior is learned behavior and
No, it is not,it is inherited; 8/28/11, 2:19 PM
AllenS said...: Writ Small said...
In the other case, it was a gentleman who said that black men marrying outside their race was a contributing factor to high crime

You talking about me? Are you refering to me saying that I thought that black men should marry black women and raise their black children to differentiate between right and wrong? And, for that, I was called a "shit eating white person". Is that what you're talking about?; 8/28/11, 2:20 PM
Writ Small said...: Correct.

The full quote was:

Until black men start marrying black women and raising their black children to differentiate between right and wrong, nothing will change.

Thinking that it takes a village is utter bullshit.

"Until black men start marrying black women. . . "

I had a strong negative reaction to how you put that sentence together at the time and so did Crack. I agree that absent fathers in the black community, and the non-black for that matter, are a serious problem and worthy of comment. Your sentence read to me like that wasn't your only concern.

You can clear it up now by saying you have no concerns with black men marrying non-black women.

I'll take back that it was a racist thing to say, since absent that implication, your statement was fine.

However, I do understand Crack's strong reaction.; 8/28/11, 3:29 PM
Trooper York said...: Well Crack was just mad cause he likes the white womens. Just sayn'; 8/28/11, 3:36 PM
Chip S. said...: Unfortunately for pro-lifers, it's mostly due to Roe vs. Wade.

This "fact" has come under some pretty withering attack.; 8/28/11, 3:37 PM
Trooper York said...: The reason why there is less crime is the new style of policing where you don't let trivial crimes go or the broken window theory. Once you put everyone through the system you catch most of the real criminals and the crime rate goes way down.

It's Guiliani time.; 8/28/11, 3:37 PM
Ralph L said...: Why should he apologize for your obvious misreading?

You're the one jumping to racist conclusions (Down with Miscegenation! or however you spell it!). You owe him the apology, if you ask me.; 8/28/11, 3:43 PM
AllenS said...: Writ Small said...
I had a strong negative reaction to how you put that sentence together at the time and so did Crack. I agree that absent fathers in the black community, and the non-black for that matter, are a serious problem and worthy of comment. Your sentence read to me like that wasn't your only concern

You can read anything that I say, anyway that you want to. You shit eating white person.; 8/28/11, 3:43 PM
AllenS said...: Well, that's too bad. Seems like I ruined the thread. Not a problem with me, bring it, or shut the fuck up. This happens all the time: the accusation of racism, the quotes that aren't there. No problem, once again, to me. Anyone who comments on this blog can say any fucking thing that they want to say. What do you have to say, small writ?; 8/28/11, 5:40 PM
The Dude said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 8/28/11, 7:44 PM
Writ Small said...: AllenS said. . .
What do you have to say, small writ?

You say I mis-read you, so I'm prepared to give you an apology. I would like to hear your thoughts on interracial marriage. Show my gut reaction was wrong, and I'll provide a nice retraction.

If you want to say, "I could give two shits about black men marrying white women, you shit-eating white person," I'll take it. I deserve it if I got that wrong.

Sixty Grit - Doubling down on the "all the crime was committed by blacks?" Well, that's one way to play it.; 8/29/11, 6:55 AM
The Dude said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 8/29/11, 7:13 AM
AllenS said...: Writ,

Marry anyone that you want. My forefathers decided to marry Native American (Injuns) women. However, there is a big, and I mean big problem in the black community with so many black women having children, and there are no black husbands around to help raise these children. There is no other solution to this problem, other than black men marrying black women. Read that anyway that you want.; 8/29/11, 8:12 AM
Writ Small said...: AllenS -

I'm sorry. I read something into what you wrote that have made clear wasn't there. I crossed a line that shouldn't be crossed without stronger evidence.

Peace.; 8/29/11, 11:42 AM
Writ Small said...: And before sixty gets all over my ass for bad grammar, that should have read

"that you have made clear"; 8/29/11, 11:48 AM
AllenS said...: I accept your apology.; 8/29/11, 11:53 AM
The Dude said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 8/29/11, 1:15 PM
Writ Small said...: Visit any jail, and check out the proportions of the races represented, then compare that to their numbers in society.

If you had talked about proportions at the beginning, we wouldn't be having this stupid conversation. Who's the dumb ass now?; 8/29/11, 1:36 PM
Writ Small said...: Saying blacks commit more crime as a percent is common knowledge. To quote Ted Nugent, "Who doesn't know this?"

You go too far when you say "all," and that pisses people off, including me.; 8/29/11, 1:43 PM
Writ Small said...: And while I'm feeling like a dumb ass for calling out AllenS wrongly, I want to apologize to Ann for hijacking this thread. Won't happen again.; 8/29/11, 1:49 PM
The Dude said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 8/29/11, 1:57 PM
Writ Small said...: You're a hard man, but I guess I've been reading these comment threads long enough to know that already.

We're on the same political side, whether you want to accept it or not - and yeah, Crack, too. You are trying to be true to your own experience, but I see your turn-the-dial-to-eleven statements as a turnoff to those people still making up their minds.

We're not going to settle it today.

Peace out.; 8/29/11, 2:14 PM
The Dude said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 8/29/11, 2:20 PM

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