Do You Really Want to Help the Poor?
Peter Robinson ·
August 22, 2012 at 8:37pm
Then support the cops.
From Heather Mac Donald's brilliant new article on the NYPD in City Journal:
There is one city program for the poor...that has measurably improved the quality of life in distressed neighborhoods: policing. Violent crime is the most regressive of all taxes, since it falls heaviest on poor minorities, as University of California at Berkeley law professor Franklin Zimring observes in The City That Became Safe. New York’s data-driven, proactive style of policing is government’s most progressive social program, for its benefits accrue disproportionately to those same minorities.
Hat tip Ricocheteer Stephen Schmalhofer.
- Comment (15)
- · Quote
- · UnfollowFollow (4)
Comments:
Nov '11
Re: Do You Really Want to Help the Poor?
Peter, how could you agree with this? Everyone knows that the police are nothing more than tools of oppression used by the 1% to prevent us from getting our fair share!
Nov '11
Re: Do You Really Want to Help the Poor?
I already support the cops with regular contributions at the speed trap they set up at the bottom of the hill on my regular route.
Twenty times I remember to ease off the gas before I top the hill and start down the other side. The twenty-first time, forgetfulness and gravity conspire against me. Five miles over the limit = $170 plus court costs. It's a mass production operation manned by a dozen officers. Meanwhile, non-offenders get stuck in the huge freeway traffic jam the speed trap creates at this very busy freeway intersection. (What's their lost time worth?)
I support cops policing crime in poor neighborhoods, but not Bloombergian tax hikes for cops to operate speed traps as a source of municipal revenue.
Apr '12
Re: Do You Really Want to Help the Poor?
So funny, Austin!
And so correct, of course! The police are simply ruthless bullies who practice "police brutality" when stopping self-righteous protestors from breaking windows, burning police cars, and breaking the law against unlawful assembly. :-)
When, as a small child, I first heard the question from Genesis, "Am I my brother's keeper?", I was astonished to learn that the correct answer apparently was that I am. I still don't agree with that. He is a big boy, and while I might support him some action, he is responsible for his own life. My idea of helping the "poor" is helping them help themselves. Growing up in Scotland, I was told, "God helps those who help themselves!" I find all this Humanistic rubbish about "helping the poor" degrading to "the poor", and totally against human nature. The Hebrew Bible actually says, help widows and orphans, which is quite different.
I read Heather MacDonald's article in City Journal and thought it fabulous. It is time the conservatives in America made their voices heard. Sometime that may feel like "farting into the wind", but it is worth trying.
Edited on August 22, 2012 at 9:46pmSep '10
Re: Do You Really Want to Help the Poor?
Red Feline: ... When, as a small child, I first heard the question from Genesis, "Am I my brother's keeper?", I was astonished to learn that the correct answer apparently was that I am. I still don't agree with that. He is a big boy, and while I might support him some action, he is responsible for his own life. My idea of helping the "poor" is helping them help themselves. · 1 minute ago
Edited 0 minutes ago
I heartily agree, Red. (I don't like the prodigal son story, either, FWIW.) My view is this: people who love everyone love no one very much. Better to love imperfectly than to strive for perfection and not really love at all.
Jun '10
Re: Do You Really Want to Help the Poor?
In Mexico's gangland, where the bodies have been piling up, they might as well have no police, because many of the police are on the gang's payroll. That's the other end of the spectrum.
Jun '12
Re: Do You Really Want to Help the Poor?
If you want to support the cops, here's a handy page with some of the best -- and worst -- police charities.
Jul '11
Re: Do You Really Want to Help the Poor?
I was thinking more along the lines of getting our country back to work again.
Should the entitlement nation continue to expand we will indeed have a truly lawless society before too long. More cops will not help.
Dec '10
Re: Do You Really Want to Help the Poor?
Oh, I hear that! I've certainly done my share for the D.C. police department. On my many journeys to and from BWI (Baltimore's airport) and my Arlington apartment, I often find myself donating large sums of money to the city's police department in the form of speeding tickets.
There's a lovely stretch of Rt. 50 heading into D.C., just when you get off of Rt. 295. In this stretch of highway, the speed limit changes from 65mph (everyone travels 70mph+) on Rt. 295 into 45mph on Rt. 50. Oddly enough, the road becomes wider and more open once it becomes Rt. 50.
No one slows down despite the speed change.
At first I tried to go the 45mph but felt it was more dangerous to go that slow when everyone else was going much faster. Even if I can go the speed limit, it changes almost immediately after to 35mph. This is a 4 lane highway we're talking about here. They know darn well that no one will go 35mph.
That's probably why there are so many cameras!
Dec '10
Re: Do You Really Want to Help the Poor?
Honestly, my opinion of the police has gone down in recent years. I've just had too many interactions with rude police officers and read too many horror stories about police heavy-handedness. This may be more the fault of the legislators who make the law and not the police who merely enforce the law, but still...
I am always respectful and courteous when dealing with authority but often times that simple respect isn't reciprocated.
Nov '11
Re: Do You Really Want to Help the Poor?
DocJay: I was thinking more along the lines of getting our country back to work again.
Should the entitlement nation continue to expand we will indeed have a truly lawless society before too long. More cops will not help.
Yes, working people are usually too busy to break the law.
So the libs will say, "See, joblessness and poverty cause crime!"
But they don't notice the prime cause: "Welfare state causes joblessness and poverty."
Edited on August 22, 2012 at 10:55pmSep '10
Re: Do You Really Want to Help the Poor?
If there is one problem with our economy today it is that we don't have enough government employees. And taxpayers can feel good knowing that the 50-60 years they spend paying one of these employees (through salary and pensions) will get them 20 years worth of service.
Jun '12
Re: Do You Really Want to Help the Poor?
There are many, many government employees I'd say that about.
Police, fire, and EMS workers are not among them.
These are the people that run in when everyone else is running out, and they deserve our support, our respect, and yes, the money we pay them.
Jul '11
Re: Do You Really Want to Help the Poor?
ConservativeWanderer
There are many, many government employees I'd say that about.
Police, fire, and EMS workers are not among them.
These are the people that run in when everyone else is running out, and they deserve our support, our respect, and yes, the money we pay them. · 21 minutes ago
I agree mostly but bankruptcy inducing pension benefits rob the next generation of citizens the ability to pay these everyday heroes who do risk it all.
Jun '12
Re: Do You Really Want to Help the Poor?
DocJay
ConservativeWanderer
There are many, many government employees I'd say that about.
Police, fire, and EMS workers are not among them.
These are the people that run in when everyone else is running out, and they deserve our support, our respect, and yes, the money we pay them. · 21 minutes ago
I agree mostly but bankruptcy inducing pension benefits rob the next generation of citizens the ability to pay these everyday heroes who do risk it all. · 1 minute ago
Most of those are for the bureaucratic paper-pushers, not the people putting themselves in harm's way.
Sep '10
Re: Do You Really Want to Help the Poor?
ConservativeWanderer
There are many, many government employees I'd say that about.
Police, fire, and EMS workers are not among them.
These are the people that run in when everyone else is running out, and they deserve our support, our respect, and yes, the money we pay them. · 7 hours ago
You hire police because you need more police. If your goal is "to help the poor" it's a bad investment.
The reason for giving pensions to police and fireman is not because we deem their work important, it is because the work is physical and we want to encourage them to retire young. If your house is burning you don't want to rely on a 70-year-old to carry you to safety (this, of course is not true of teachers or people with desk jobs).
Still, most pension plans were designed when life expectancy was about 65 years. As that number today is closer to 80, government pensions need to be reformed. And don't get me started on pre-retirement promotions for pension purposes only. . .