4 ms·
"If you get jammed up, you can become a convicted felon and that damns you to do it for the rest of your life, because you won’t get anything but a $7.50 an hou
by beat 13y ago
"If you get jammed up, you can become a convicted felon and that damns you to do it for the rest of your life, because you won’t get anything but a $7.50 an hour job—if that. You give somebody a felony record for life, what did you accomplish? You’ve just created a lower-class idiot that has to commit more crimes to survive.”
That's the problem right there. We can spend tens, hundreds of thousands of dollars incarcerating a simple marijuana dealer, and then remove most of them from the chance of ever having a productive life.
There are exceptions. I have an old friend who spent a few years in prison for LSD traffic back in college. He's one of the smartest people I ever met. Eventually he got out, finished his PhD in chemistry, and now is the co-founder of a startup doing new chemotherapy drugs. But like I said, one of the smartest people I've ever met.
- Symmetry 13y agoAnd the same conviction that means regular employers not trust the person mean that potential partners in crime know he's actually a criminal and therefore more trustworthy for their purposes.
- dlsx 13y agoLSD and Marijuana increase IQ. I have smoked and dosed for 20+ years and only notice my mental abilities sharpen. Alcohol and cigarettes are the real issue, but they are legal of course :). Perhaps the title should be renamed socially marginalized friends have to break the law to help people get what they want. The government and police should be removed from the equation, and let the shock commence when violent crime actually dwindles. >2014 >still war on drugs SMFH
- EGreg 13y agoAren't they already entrepreneurs? Who says they have to have a job? LOL
- chc 13y agoThe idea that anybody you'd label an "entrepreneur" can pull money out of thin air legally, without any capital, without any connections and without working for anyone else is rather peculiar.
- collyw 13y agoIs the American dream not based on that?
- CocaKoala 13y ago...no? To my understanding the American Dream is based on the idea that anybody from any background can come to America, build something, and become successful; the freedom and opportunity to start small and build up. It's not about pulling money from nowhere, it's about turning sweat into capital.
- zmonkeyz 13y agoPretty much.
- EGreg 13y agostraw man much? I said that they are entrepreneurial, perhaps you would prefer that I said they're self employed? The point is, they have skills and mindset that make them not just want a job anyway