Monday, May 24, 2004
Harper's Law and Order Promise
During the summer, the Bushies were trying to play down the violence there. In order to convince people that things were not that bad, some staffer had the bright idea to point out that given the data they had, probably incomplete, Baghdad's murder rate was lower than New York city's. The underlying message was that things in Baghdad were just peachy. After all, as everyone knows New York's murder rate is low. Looking back on this I do not know whether to laugh or cry. Sure New York's murder rate (last I heard 7.5 per 100000 but I have heard it as low as 6) is low relative to other American cities, but it is double that of the most violent Western cities outside of the States. As for the US cities with the highest murder rates, there no other western cities that come even close to having the murder rate of say Detroit (47 per 100000) and Washington DC (48 per 100000). Murder rates in those cities are similar to crime ridden Rio and Bogotá. The main reason for such a discrepancy between the murder rate in the States and the rest of the Western world is as most criminologists will tell you differences between rich and poor are so much greater in the States than they are in other Western countries. This is why Stephen Harper’s law and order approach rings so hollow. Any tax regime that is similar to the States, Harper’s stated goal, will produce, by increasing the inequalities of wealth, far more criminals than Harper could ever dream of locking up.
During the summer, the Bushies were trying to play down the violence there. In order to convince people that things were not that bad, some staffer had the bright idea to point out that given the data they had, probably incomplete, Baghdad's murder rate was lower than New York city's. The underlying message was that things in Baghdad were just peachy. After all, as everyone knows New York's murder rate is low. Looking back on this I do not know whether to laugh or cry. Sure New York's murder rate (last I heard 7.5 per 100000 but I have heard it as low as 6) is low relative to other American cities, but it is double that of the most violent Western cities outside of the States. As for the US cities with the highest murder rates, there no other western cities that come even close to having the murder rate of say Detroit (47 per 100000) and Washington DC (48 per 100000). Murder rates in those cities are similar to crime ridden Rio and Bogotá. The main reason for such a discrepancy between the murder rate in the States and the rest of the Western world is as most criminologists will tell you differences between rich and poor are so much greater in the States than they are in other Western countries. This is why Stephen Harper’s law and order approach rings so hollow. Any tax regime that is similar to the States, Harper’s stated goal, will produce, by increasing the inequalities of wealth, far more criminals than Harper could ever dream of locking up.
Comments:
Post a Comment
