I have to admit that the headline of today's editorial in the Indianapolis Cat Box Liner caught my eye: "Making the streets safer by making non-crime pay"
The editorial goes on to talk about the special obligations "the community" (read: My wallet) has towards ex-felons and other ne'er-do-wells who have fallen afoul of society's strictures. Apparently there are those who have a rough time with the complex codes of civilized behavior like "Thou shalt not carjack" and "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's cash register contents and make them yours".
You know, this is silly. We already have a special reward for not committing crimes; it's called "Not throwing your ass in prison."
Best of all? Unlike so many other government programs, it's absolutely free!
Nicely put. Would that our elected officials could be bludgeoned, er, convinced to agree.
ReplyDelete"can't find ". In two words, the author betrays his complete ignorance of how almost every criminal's mind works.
ReplyDeleteMany of them DO have jobs. Those who don't, don't want one. The reson for crime isn't economic, it's endorphins. It's not the $35 the burglar gets for your playstation that makes him risk prison. It's the fact that it's YOUR playstation.
Criminals, especially property criminals, are like Albert Schweitzer or Michael Jordan or Steve Jobs. They do it because they LIKE IT.
Also, what an illiterate rag!
"Advocates hope the initiatives by the mayor and council will encourage the private sector to follow suit. Tax incentives already exist for hiring ex-offenders and there is no shortage of potential applicants. Wouldn't it be nice to create one?"
One what?
I wish I had me one of them college degrees so's I could raht for a newspaper.
ReplyDeleteJust remember, Tam- thermometers have degrees, too.
ReplyDeleteRegards,
Rabbit.
Re-read Kipling's "Danegeld".
ReplyDeleteDamn it, here I am, abiding laws for free! What the hell? Somebody better cough up my check ASAP. Seriously, what's a guy gotta do to get a handout around here, kill somebody?
ReplyDelete