There are several countries where something like this does happen regularly. As long as we tolerate a very skewed economic privilege for the few while large numbers are left out, we will have subrosa cash economies that function outside the law.
Jobs would help... But during the height of the crack epidemic in D.C. the city promised jobs for everyone. Some folks would just rather stay up all night and shoot at each other, smoke crack, etc. than have to get up at 5 am and go collect the city's garbage and such.
That's not to say it's okay to be a crook. But we have paid a huge price in our society to have what we have. Start locking up petty criminals and the next step is a strongly nationalistic society in which those we fear will be the police instead of the crooks, or thugs as it is put.
All I'm proposing is that we simply enforce the laws already on the books at the misdemeanor level... Which would actually yield stronger penalties than are being given out for the same crimes at the felony level. That maximum sentence for a petty misdemeanor is far less than a lifetime, but long enough to get the perp of the streets for the summer and maybe turn their life around.
I'm all for a better criminal justice system that starts with good day care, goes on to excellent kindergarten preparedness, and full funding for public schools, and on to great post secondary education. That will fix those criminals. They won't know what hit them.
But first we have to make the streets safe so the kids can get to school without getting assualted and abused.
Hanging on in Hawthorne,
Dyna Sluyter
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