4 ms·

> there is one criminal justice system in this country. That's an illusion. There's almost no wealthy criminal that sees the walls of a prison - and if they d

> there is one criminal justice system in this country. That's an illusion. There's almost no wealthy criminal that sees the walls of a prison - and if they do, they find ways to get out very quickly thanks to their connections.

atoav 4y ago
I wanted to say, this is a point one could try to argue in countries where e.g. the fine for speed tickets is proportional to the income, but in the US there is just a lack of hard evidence to support that statement (and a lot of evidence that supports the opposite of the statment). The way I perceive it the US justice system is too prone to be toyed around with by people with money. A lot of the stuff people pull off in the US would land you in contempt of court if you just tried it elsewhere on the world. Innocent until proven guily, I get all of that, but what money factually buys you in the US is ridiculous
- veidr 4y ago
  Also, while we learn “innocent until proven guilty” in elementary school in the US, it doesn’t apply to poor people. Under our peculiar pay-to-play “cash bail” system, it only applies to those who can afford the fee. For the rest of the people it’s very much the opposite: stay imprisoned (and lose your job etc) until not proven guilty. To avoid this, many people take a loan from a “bail bondsman” that comes with a service fee of around 10% of the bail —- which might easily be tens of thousands of dollars and leave a poor person in crippling debt for years or forever — regardless of guilt.
helloworld11 4y ago
In general, wealthy people make up a small proportion of the population and tend (though not always) towards greater intelligence, or at least education, than the average. Both of these factors make them less likely to show up in prisons in general. It doesn't have to be about connections and special favors. Sure, many wealthy people can afford better legal defense and the justice system definitely makes things easier for them, but the rich do indeed go to real-people prison if they fuck up badly enough and get caught doing it.
- pksebben 4y ago
  > In general, wealthy people make up a small proportion of the population and tend (though not always) towards greater intelligence, or at least education, than the average What makes you think this?
  - helloworld11 4y ago
    That they make up a small proportion of the population is indisputable. Just check disposable wealth demographics. That they tend toward greater average intelligence than many in the average is certainly much more debatable, but at least in terms of access to better education resources, yes. Though I think that yes, on average, many of those who made their own wealth are better at problem solving and planning than the average.

atoav 4y ago

I wanted to say, this is a point one could try to argue in countries where e.g. the fine for speed tickets is proportional to the income, but in the US there is just a lack of hard evidence to support that statement (and a lot of evidence that supports the opposite of the statment). The way I perceive it the US justice system is too prone to be toyed around with by people with money. A lot of the stuff people pull off in the US would land you in contempt of court if you just tried it elsewhere on the world. Innocent until proven guily, I get all of that, but what money factually buys you in the US is ridiculous

veidr 4y ago
Also, while we learn “innocent until proven guilty” in elementary school in the US, it doesn’t apply to poor people. Under our peculiar pay-to-play “cash bail” system, it only applies to those who can afford the fee. For the rest of the people it’s very much the opposite: stay imprisoned (and lose your job etc) until not proven guilty. To avoid this, many people take a loan from a “bail bondsman” that comes with a service fee of around 10% of the bail —- which might easily be tens of thousands of dollars and leave a poor person in crippling debt for years or forever — regardless of guilt.

helloworld11 4y ago

In general, wealthy people make up a small proportion of the population and tend (though not always) towards greater intelligence, or at least education, than the average. Both of these factors make them less likely to show up in prisons in general. It doesn't have to be about connections and special favors. Sure, many wealthy people can afford better legal defense and the justice system definitely makes things easier for them, but the rich do indeed go to real-people prison if they fuck up badly enough and get caught doing it.

pksebben 4y ago
> In general, wealthy people make up a small proportion of the population and tend (though not always) towards greater intelligence, or at least education, than the average What makes you think this?
- helloworld11 4y ago
  That they make up a small proportion of the population is indisputable. Just check disposable wealth demographics. That they tend toward greater average intelligence than many in the average is certainly much more debatable, but at least in terms of access to better education resources, yes. Though I think that yes, on average, many of those who made their own wealth are better at problem solving and planning than the average.