I love when leftists blame sky-high crime statistics among blacks and hispanics as the "result of poverty". It's a bullshit argument that has been thoroughly debunked.
Truth is, the origins of criminality are shitty choices. To say that poverty causes crime is like saying that people chewing with their mouths open is what causes you to slap them. At what point do you consider that you could just not have slapped them? It's a complete absolving of any personal responsibility.
Regarding the suggested relation between crime and poverty, you can actually calculate an index called the Gini Coefficient which is a number that represents how much inequality of income distribution there is in a given geographical area. You can calculate a Gini coefficient for a state, or a county, or even a street. It works at all levels.
What causes crime, especially aggressive crime, is RELATIVE poverty, which is not the same thing as poverty at all. Poverty is when you don't have enough to eat. Relative poverty is when the guy who lives next door has a much better car than you.
That said, the interesting thing about the Gini Coefficient is that if you go somewhere where everyone is poor, say by national standards (South Dakota and Newfoundland are the examples often used), there is basically no crime. And conversely, if you go somewhere where everyone is rich there is virtually no crime. However if you go somewhere where there are poor people and moderately well off people as well as rich people all living near each other, and the distribution of wealth is very steep, then the rate of aggressive behavior among young men starts to skyrocket.
And the reason for that is if the wealth/dominance hierarchy is too steep then the young men have no likelihood of climbing it while playing the standard social game (go to school, get a job, go to work, etc.). So what they do is turn to aggression and crime to make their mark; and it works! If you're looking for status in a place where status is hard to achieve and you're the meanest/toughest guy around, then you're going to benefit from that status.
I'll give you two perfect examples. First, look at the 10 poorest counties in the USA. Look at their demographics and then look at their crime rates. Because according to the long-debunked philosophy of poverty=crime, the 10 poorest counties in the USA should have the 10 highest crime rates in the USA. Right? I'll save everyone the Google homework; they don't! The 10 poorest counties in the USA are virtually crime free. I can give you the list. Oh yeah, and those 10 counties are 90%+ white.
Second, take all the various ethnic groups in the USA. Look at their average household income. For groups that have a very similar household income (and there are a few) then look at their rate of crime. If wealth inequality and poverty were truly the driving factor for crime, then it would suggest that two different ethnic groups that have very similar household incomes would have very similar rates of crime. Right? Again, I'll save you the homework: it doesn't. Crime rates are VERY different among different ethnic groups that have the same household income.
I lived in Tibet among some of the poorest and most civilized and intelligent people in human history... people who don't have electricity in their homes, but contemplate existentialism and the mysteries of the human perception of reality and space and time.
If you asked a Lhasan how long it would take to walk to the Sera monastery, they will want to see the quality of your shoes and then ask if you were on a deadline and how happy you'd feel to arrive early.
I once noticed an odd looking Buddhist carving in the markets of Lhasa which looked more like something Hindu. I asked the Buddhist store owner the origins of the design; why a Buddhist design would resemble a Hindu sculpture... and he said, "because nothing is fixed and all things are possible".
The first Standard (Lhasa) Tibetan joke I ever successfully told was while walking through Tianhai Night Market when a vendor offered me a human skull (sky burial) decorated with glass beads... I was prepared for the moment and I grinned as I pointed to my head and replied in broken Standard Tibetan, "thank you kind sir, but I already own a skull"...
..the vendor was so impressed and overwhelmed by my attempt to speak Tibetan that he literally danced and invited me to share a meal with his family. A few weeks later, my new friend noticed me in a crowd and we drank chai tea together as he helped me practice speaking Tibetan.
There is no excuse for anyone who lives in the land of opportunity, to behave like savages.
I love when leftists blame sky-high crime statistics among blacks and hispanics as the "result of poverty". It's a bullshit argument that has been thoroughly debunked.
Truth is, the origins of criminality are shitty choices. To say that poverty causes crime is like saying that people chewing with their mouths open is what causes you to slap them. At what point do you consider that you could just not have slapped them? It's a complete absolving of any personal responsibility.
Regarding the suggested relation between crime and poverty, you can actually calculate an index called the Gini Coefficient which is a number that represents how much inequality of income distribution there is in a given geographical area. You can calculate a Gini coefficient for a state, or a county, or even a street. It works at all levels.
What causes crime, especially aggressive crime, is RELATIVE poverty, which is not the same thing as poverty at all. Poverty is when you don't have enough to eat. Relative poverty is when the guy who lives next door has a much better car than you.
That said, the interesting thing about the Gini Coefficient is that if you go somewhere where everyone is poor, say by national standards (South Dakota and Newfoundland are the examples often used), there is basically no crime. And conversely, if you go somewhere where everyone is rich there is virtually no crime. However if you go somewhere where there are poor people and moderately well off people as well as rich people all living near each other, and the distribution of wealth is very steep, then the rate of aggressive behavior among young men starts to skyrocket.
And the reason for that is if the wealth/dominance hierarchy is too steep then the young men have no likelihood of climbing it while playing the standard social game (go to school, get a job, go to work, etc.). So what they do is turn to aggression and crime to make their mark; and it works! If you're looking for status in a place where status is hard to achieve and you're the meanest/toughest guy around, then you're going to benefit from that status.
I'll give you two perfect examples. First, look at the 10 poorest counties in the USA. Look at their demographics and then look at their crime rates. Because according to the long-debunked philosophy of poverty=crime, the 10 poorest counties in the USA should have the 10 highest crime rates in the USA. Right? I'll save everyone the Google homework; they don't! The 10 poorest counties in the USA are virtually crime free. I can give you the list. Oh yeah, and those 10 counties are 90%+ white.
Second, take all the various ethnic groups in the USA. Look at their average household income. For groups that have a very similar household income (and there are a few) then look at their rate of crime. If wealth inequality and poverty were truly the driving factor for crime, then it would suggest that two different ethnic groups that have very similar household incomes would have very similar rates of crime. Right? Again, I'll save you the homework: it doesn't. Crime rates are VERY different among different ethnic groups that have the same household income.
Agreed.
I lived in Tibet among some of the poorest and most civilized and intelligent people in human history... people who don't have electricity in their homes, but contemplate existentialism and the mysteries of the human perception of reality and space and time.
If you asked a Lhasan how long it would take to walk to the Sera monastery, they will want to see the quality of your shoes and then ask if you were on a deadline and how happy you'd feel to arrive early.
I once noticed an odd looking Buddhist carving in the markets of Lhasa which looked more like something Hindu. I asked the Buddhist store owner the origins of the design; why a Buddhist design would resemble a Hindu sculpture... and he said, "because nothing is fixed and all things are possible".
The first Standard (Lhasa) Tibetan joke I ever successfully told was while walking through Tianhai Night Market when a vendor offered me a human skull (sky burial) decorated with glass beads... I was prepared for the moment and I grinned as I pointed to my head and replied in broken Standard Tibetan, "thank you kind sir, but I already own a skull"...
..the vendor was so impressed and overwhelmed by my attempt to speak Tibetan that he literally danced and invited me to share a meal with his family. A few weeks later, my new friend noticed me in a crowd and we drank chai tea together as he helped me practice speaking Tibetan.
There is no excuse for anyone who lives in the land of opportunity, to behave like savages.
Wet sidewalks cause rain.
It's far beyond the minds of mere liberals to realize that crime causes poverty.
so its a culture problem then?
you could say that.