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One example, in the US: poor people get crappy education. The more our economy shifts to a knowledge-based economy, the more effective this is at keeping poor p
by runako 13y ago
One example, in the US: poor people get crappy education. The more our economy shifts to a knowledge-based economy, the more effective this is at keeping poor people poor.
Another example: access to legal services (in the US) is essentially required for fair treatment under the law. Poor people cannot afford legal services, and so will generally not get fair treatment under the law. So a mistake/misunderstanding/relatively minor infraction that would be a mere hassle for a richer person can be life-ruining for a poorer person. In the US, we've gone so far as to apply wildly different penalties to "poor people's drugs" and "rich people's drugs" (obviously stereotypes, but the stereotypes have some basis in fact and are why the laws were written that way).
Poor neighborhoods are more likely to experience elevated crime levels. In the US, this means they are often militarized. This makes everyone that lives in them more at risk for life-ruining run-ins with the law. The people of NYC have decided that it's fair for non-white juveniles to be subject to stopping & frisking anytime, for no cause. This is a tax for which no benefit is derived by the payers.
There are tons of examples like these that have nothing to do with redistribution. If you read the papers, you'll see examples every day.
- AutoCorrect 13y agoHere's a newsflash for ya: DON'T BREAK THE LAW!!! If they weren't breaking they law there would be no need to send them to jail. I grew up around a bunch of potheads and saw by their example that I never wanted to be involved with drugs. Instead of spending my time getting drunk and high I spent my time in the library reading. I grew up in a trailer park, and now live in a middle-class suburb. Because I was interested in video games, I learned about computers. Poor people are held down by the chains of their own bad habits, not by rich people.
- sneak 13y agoThere are so many laws in the US that everyone there is committing several felonies a day. It's the poor and minorities the cops choose to scrutinize and enforce against most. Few times have I seen such obliviousness to white middle-class privilege on HN.
- bilbo0s 13y agoYeah... I guess this one is true. I'd have to challenge AutoCorrect's implicit assertion that (s)he doesn't break the law. There are so many laws that the assertion is a little difficult to believe. Your explanation is far more likely... ie - this is the US and it's far better to be white than black, or rich than poor. And the worst is to be poor and black.
- glesica 13y agorunako already dealt with this by pointing out that because poor areas are militarized, run-ins with the law are more likely even for "normal" law-breaking. What kid doesn't break the law? I did, tons of times. I wasn't out murdering people, but I took part in the usual American youth mischief. If I'd grown up in a poor, black neighborhood, there's a good chance I would have gone to prison. As it is, I grew up in a middle-class white neighborhood, so I got away with it (and turned out MUCH better than I would have if I'd gone to prison). Aside from this, militarization leads to people who didn't even break the law being incarcerated or killed. Take a look at the Innocence Project, and AFAIK they don't even handle people wrongfully convicted of minor offenses.
- yummyfajitas 13y agoHow do the rich cause the poor to be poorly educated? Do they infiltrate the school boards in poor districts and cause them to enact bad policies? I was also completely unaware that the rich went into poor neighborhoods and committed crime. This is terrible! One possible solution to this is to try and segregate rich from poor as much as possible. That will certainly reduce the harm these rich villains cause. Maybe we need barriers preventing the rich from entering poor neighborhoods (and vice versa, in the interest of fairness). That should reduce crime in poor neighborhoods and improve the schools, right? I agree with you on the war on drugs.