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Unappreciated Crime Costs
Townhall.com ^ | January 15, 2020 | Walter E. Williams

Posted on 01/15/2020 4:10:18 AM PST by Kaslin

Criminal activity imposes huge costs on black residents in low-income neighborhoods of cities such as Chicago, Baltimore, Detroit, St. Louis, Philadelphia and many others. Thousands of black Americans were murdered in 2019. Over 90% of the time, the perpetrator was also black. Leftists and social justice warriors charge that what blacks have to fear most is being shot and killed by police, but the numbers don't add up. For several years, The Washington Post has been documenting police shootings in America. Last year, 933 people were shot and killed by police. Twenty-three percent (212) of people shot and killed were black; 35% (331) were white; 16% (155) were Hispanic and 201 were of other or unknown races. The high homicide rate within the black community doesn't begin to tell the full tragedy.

Crime imposes a hefty tax on people who can least afford it. They are the law-abiding residents of black neighborhoods. Residents must bear the time cost and other costs of having to shop outside of their neighborhoods. Supermarkets that are abundant in low-crime neighborhoods are absent or scarce in high-crime, low-income neighborhoods. Because of the paucity of supermarkets and other big-box stores in these neighborhoods, some "experts" and academicians have labeled them as "food deserts." That's the ridiculous suggestion that white supermarket merchants and big-box store owners don't like green dollars coming out of black hands. The true villains of the piece are the criminals who make some businesses unprofitable. By the way, these are equal opportunity criminals. They will victimize a black-owned business just as they would victimize a white-owned business. The high crime rates in many black neighborhoods have the effect of outlawing economic growth and opportunities.

In low-crime neighborhoods, FedEx, UPS and other delivery companies routinely leave packages containing valuable merchandise on a doorstep if no one is home. That saves the expense of redelivery and saves recipients the expense of having to go pick up the packages. In high-crime neighborhoods, delivery companies leaving packages at the door or supermarkets leaving goods outside unattended would be equivalent to economic suicide. Fearing robberies, taxi drivers, including black drivers, often refuse to accept telephone calls for home pickups and frequently pass prospective black customers who hail them on the street. Plus, there's the insult associated with not being able to receive pizzas or other deliveries on the same terms as people in other neighborhoods.

Another often-overlooked impact of crime is lower property values. Homes that wouldn't fetch $10,000, $20,000 or $40,000 suddenly fetch hundreds of thousands when large numbers of middle- and upper-income people purchase formerly run-down properties and fix them up. This is called gentrification, where wealthier, predominantly white, people bid higher rental prices thus forcing out low-income residents. As a result of gentrification, there is greater police protection and other neighborhood amenities increase.

Many make the erroneous assumption that black people don't care about crime. But black people strongly disapprove of the day-to-day violence that's all too common in their communities. What compounds that problem is a deep mistrust of police in poor black neighborhoods. This distrust, along with fear of reprisals by black criminals, causes an atmosphere of noncooperation with the police. It creates the "stop snitching" principle. This principle of snitches being worse than criminals themselves only exacerbates the crime problem in black communities by giving aid and comfort to the true enemies of the community -- those who prey on the community and have little fear of being brought to justice. In some cities, less than 10% of murderers are ever charged.

For decades, the problems of blacks could be laid at the feet of racial discrimination. Our ancestors started a civil rights struggle and won. Today, the most devastating problems of blacks are entirely self-inflicted such as high illegitimacy, family breakdown and unsafe communities. These problems have little to do with civil rights. But as long as blacks buy into the notion that white racism is the source of their problems, the solutions will be elusive forever.


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Editorial
KEYWORDS: blackcommunity; crime

1 posted on 01/15/2020 4:10:18 AM PST by Kaslin
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To: Kaslin

It’s unfortunate that the liberal black community doesn’t unite with the rest of us rational people to stand against crime. Hopefully enough will back Trump. What do they have to lose?


2 posted on 01/15/2020 4:16:43 AM PST by HighSierra5
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To: HighSierra5

Time to walk away from the race baiters.


3 posted on 01/15/2020 4:27:12 AM PST by Biggirl ("One Lord, one faith,e one baptism" - Ephesians 4:5)
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To: HighSierra5

Exactly


4 posted on 01/15/2020 4:28:32 AM PST by Kaslin
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To: HighSierra5

One way to understand all this may be through Fourth Generation Warfare Theory. For centuries people have accepted that only The State has the Moral Authority to use violence. This premise is breaking down all across the globe in many, many different ways. The acceptance of violence in places like Baltimore and Chicago is just a manifestation of how the world is changing globally. Syria has had non state actors engaged in violence for years. Libya is another.

One could, it seems to me, reasonably predict increased acceptance of force used by tribes, gangs, and families in the future. In the next few months here in Virginia we could well see a serious blurring of the lines between just who is the legit authority when it comes to use of violence.


5 posted on 01/15/2020 4:30:17 AM PST by wastoute (Government cannot redistribute wealth. Government can only redistribute poverty.)
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To: wastoute
For centuries people have accepted that only The State has the Moral Authority to use violence.

I think it is much more recent than that. It was 1918 when German Sociologist Max Weber defined a "state" as a human community where the government successfully claimed a monopoly on legitimate violence.

In the Anglosphere, there has always been the acknowledgement of the right to defense of self.

Natural Law conflicts with Weber on this.

6 posted on 01/15/2020 4:56:23 AM PST by marktwain (President Trump and his supporters are the Resistance. His opponents are the Reactionaries.)
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To: marktwain

When the lead starts flying here in Virginia which side is going to be “The State”?


7 posted on 01/15/2020 5:01:18 AM PST by wastoute (Government cannot redistribute wealth. Government can only redistribute poverty.)
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To: Kaslin

“Fearing robberies, taxi drivers, including black drivers, often refuse to accept telephone calls for home pickups and frequently pass prospective black customers who hail them on the street. Plus, there’s the insult associated with not being able to receive pizzas or other deliveries on the same terms as people in other neighborhoods.”

Experience has taught companies that the potential earnings in these areas are far outweighed by the safety risks; the perps will likely kill you for small amounts of money.


8 posted on 01/15/2020 5:46:34 AM PST by kearnyirish2 (Affirmative action is economic warfare against white males (and therefore white families).)
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To: HighSierra5

Ultra-liberal judges, legislators, citizens, and school professionals—black or not—are the cause, IMHO.


9 posted on 01/15/2020 5:47:03 AM PST by imardmd1 (I'M A ReDeeMed 1 [Ps. 107:2])
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To: Kaslin
high illegitimacy, family breakdown and unsafe communities

Democrat Family Values!!
10 posted on 01/15/2020 5:52:36 AM PST by eyeamok
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To: Kaslin

“Criminal activity imposes huge costs on black residents”

That criminal activity is performed by the blacks. They do this to themselves.


11 posted on 01/15/2020 6:00:38 AM PST by CodeToad (Arm Up! They Have!)
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To: Kaslin

bkmk


12 posted on 01/15/2020 6:05:09 AM PST by thefactor (yes, as a matter of fact, i DID only read the excerpt)
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To: Kaslin

Tough. Build a wall and let them enjoy living in their police-free utopia. Last year in St. Louis a shirt was being sold that had the picture of a murdered police officer with the caption, “One down, many more to go”. I hope the cops stay out of these areas.


13 posted on 01/15/2020 6:06:26 AM PST by Pining_4_TX ("Every election is a sort of advance auction sale of stolen goods." ~ H.L. Mencken)
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To: Kaslin

More black pregnancies are aborted than live births in NYC,
70% of new HIV cases are black.
Only 36% of blacks get married. No fathers at home.
Celebrate diversity?


14 posted on 01/15/2020 6:16:26 AM PST by JeanLM (Obama proves melanin is just enough to win elections)
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To: Kaslin
...gentrification, where wealthier, predominantly white, people bid higher rental prices thus forcing out low-income residents.

This forcing out is another govt. created problem due to the current City/County/State property tax structures across the US.. I saw it happen in Houston and in the Midwest.

15 posted on 01/15/2020 7:08:25 AM PST by urtax$@work (The only kind of memorial is a Burning memorial !)
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