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Crime is a matter of mentality, not a matter of poverty. The great majority of poor people, in the US or always and everywhere, are/were not criminal. A culture that glamorizes crime, and actual criminality itself, have always gone hand in hand everywhere, independent of any poverty.
Quote:
Originally Posted by elnrgby
Singapore shows, absence of crime does nor reduce the number of jobs in law enforcement - Singapore has practically no crime, but has a huge police force, to assure that the no-crime situation remains as it is.
You came to this country in a different time period when things were easier and less expensive. You can't keep comparing your situations to now. Its apples to oranges.
Nothing was easier for a grad student from my former country in the US in 1983 (tail end of Cold War), and things were just as expensive as they are today relative to the income. I lived on a stipend of $560 per month when a regular rent for a studio in Upstate NY (where I studied and therefore lived) was $300 per month, a studio co-op in Manhattan cost $100k to buy, and the cost of renting a studio apartment in Manhattan was about $700 per month. Renting a studio in Manhattan would have been above my income, buying it would have been nowhere in sight, and I initially rented a $150 per month cold-water storage shed on a roof of a building, because renting a real apartment even Upstate would have eaten up more than half of my monthly stipend. Yeah, I didn't have kids because that was not only NOT "much easier" in 1983, but financially impossible for me (since I was paid only for contributing where the US could use my contribution, not for having kids that I would have been unable to support).
What do you mean? My statements that you posted do not contradict each other. Crime is a result of culture that permits and even glorifies crime, ie, of criminal mentality (everywhere). But crime can be exterminated with intensive law enforcement and punishment for crime (as shown in Singapore). Singapore no longer has crime to speak of due to severe anti-crime measures, but retains a very large police force to prevent crime from increasing. Nothing in these statements is mutually contradictory.
It is not hideous, it is logical. I am not advocating to prohibit reproducing among the poor, they can do whatever they want, and live with the consequences. But if a poor person does not reproduce (like myself), that person stands a chance of having a much better life herself, and will not give rise to the next generation of poverty. If nobody gave rise to the next generation of poverty, there would be no poverty in the next generation - again, not hideous, but a self-evident fact.
I agree. Bring back manufacturing jobs to NYC, and bring back the vocational training that they took away from NYC public schools, because not everyone is destined to graduate or has the aptitude to attain a college degree, or they're simply not interested. High school doesn't even offer home economics classes anymore. Technically I think the curriculum needs a revamping anyway, it doesn't suit modern needs. Coding classes are relatively new. I don't know if all schools offer it, but my son took a coding class last year.
I agree with greatly increasing the volume of vocational training in NYC and everywhere. I would expect all high schools to offer coding classes by now, but I wouldn't know if they do, I don't have kids.
Singapore maintains a full welfare state. Universal healthcare, public housing and most people actually receive some form of subsidy or disbursement from the government. The poorest segments of society receive a lot of government support, including rental flats priced at $30/month.
The "welfare state" in Singapore is maintained by selling leaseholds to people who buy them from the government, and taxes that everyone pays from employment which is essentially universal. Government support = support from the sale of long leases by the government + taxes (like everywhere else, Singapore does not create money out of nowhere). A welfare handout is extraordinarily difficult to get in Singapore. People who are out of work have to participate in community groups with employment guidance, and they are placed into some form of job (rather than being paid for having kids). Everyone who works at all has to participate in compulsory saving plans, where they have to save a large % of income, and draw first on their savings account for healthcare, retirement, or any other needs. They get taxpayer help only when they exhaust their own savings. The proclaimed, and practiced, approach to life in Singapore is self-reliance. It is the exact opposite of welfare state.
With the exception of prohibition of same-sex sexual activity, illegality of all other things listed in that link is justifiable, and contributes to better quality of life. I am not advocating Singapore approach to homosexuality, but Singapore approach to crime.
Nothing was easier for a grad student from my former country in the US in 1983 (tail end of Cold War), and things were just as expensive as they are today relative to the income. I lived on a stipend of $560 per month when a regular rent for a studio in Upstate NY (where I studied and therefore lived) was $300 per month, a studio co-op in NYC cost $100k to buy, and the cost of renting a studio apartment in Manhattan was about $700 per month. Renting a studio in Manhattan would have been above my income, buying it would have been nowhere in sight, and I initially rented a $150 per month cold-water storage shed on a roof of a building, because renting a real apartment even Upstate would have eaten up more than half of my monthly stipend. Yeah, I didn't have kids because that was not only NOT "much easier" in 1983, but financially impossible for me (since I was paid only for contributing where the US could use my contribution, not for having kids I would have been unable to support).
You are truly out of reality. Do you know how many working class people spend more than 50% of their income on rent. I know people who spend like 70%.
In 1983 a studio in Manhattan could be found for way less than $700 a month. Perhaps the ones you looked at were that much but cost of living was much cheaper than that for a basic studio.
crime can be exterminated with intensive law enforcement and punishment
Even Giuliani would not use that word
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