Racial minorities account for a majority of the population who are convicted of drug related crimes, but make up no where near the majority of users. This is due to a variety of reasons, but one that I have found interesting is because most drug enforcement is done in public spaces, where minority drug peddlers do much of their business. In contrast, whites typically conduct drug transactions in closed-door private spaces. At the height of the crack scare in the late 1980s for example, blacks comprised 12 percent of the population, but 42 percent of drug arrests involved blacks. Before you jump to the conclusion that this is because “whites don’t do as many drugs,” keep in mind that whites make up 70 percent of drug users in the United States.
One study in Seattle revealed that despite the fact that drug enforcement officers retrieve far more illicit substances when focusing on drug transactions captured by a private property search warrant, drug officers insist on focusing their efforts on open air drug markets.
To wit:
During the period under investigation, buy-bust operations, which targeted ‘street dealers,’ yielded an average of .1 gram of narcotics and 33 cents in funds seized per officer-hour spent conducting the operation. By contrast, search-warrant arrests, which by definition occur indoors, yielded an average of 52 grams of illegal drugs and $749 per officer.
Despite this, resources are still heavily devoted to busting the outdoor transactions, which leads to more minority arrests, but less yield. This leaves it very hard to say with any honesty that racial disparity is just an “unfortunate byproduct” of the drug war.
Ninety-nine percent of children who are Black, who live in a single parent household, and who live with a head of household who has less than 12 years of education have experienced poverty, compared with only 15% of children who are White, who live in two-parent households, and who live with a head of household who has completed at least 12 years of education.
-Karen Seccombe, Families in Poverty in the 1990s,: Trends, Causes, Consequences and Lessons Learned
Seecombe’s description applies to a majority of black children in urban areas in the United States. As a policymaker, this is where you are starting from when crafting laws. This is a harsh reality, but a reality nonetheless, and must be taken into account The gap cannot be ignored, and must be factored in when framing policy discussions.
I began work on my masters thesis this year, and have decided that one of the best ways for me to retain some of the information is to blog it periodically. I will use this space to share bits of information that I find fascinating, and my analysis of it.
To be submitted to The Johns Hopkins University in two years time, I am writing my thesis on three government institutions that I contend perpetuate cyclical poverty rates in the United States. In brief, the government institutions in dire need of reform are:
1. Public Education – The American system utilizes a monopoly-based approach to public education, one financed by local taxes and held back by bureaucracies that regularly block access to competition. It has created a nationwide system in which children growing up in poor areas have little, if no access to quality education facilities. For many, private education is out of reach because of cost restrictions. So, the child who is born into poverty has a higher probability to grow up at a constant remedial education level.
2. Drug Policy - Once the child is grown, he is not only at greater risk to use harmful drugs, but at even greater risk of imprisonment for drug use than wealthier counterparts. The drug system in place today imposes a measurably increased burden on the poor and minorities. Criminal convictions make it very hard for citizens to re-enter society, which leads to more years of poverty. Reforming our drug laws so that treat drug abuse as a social and health problem instead of a criminal one will keep many at-risk citizens out of prison, and offer a better chance for success in life.
3. An Outdated Social Security Entitlement System – The retirement-age safety net in place, which was implemented in the mid-20th century, is unsustainable in the 21st century. With the growing rate of Americans who live to be over the age of 65, without reform, this system will consume the federal budget on a massive scale. It’s sustainability notwithstanding, it does not offer citizens the opportunity to save and pass down wealth as one based on private accounts would. Americans who work low-wage jobs have nothing monetary to offer to new generations, who must start life on their own, instead of building on the shoulders of their relatives. The system should be reformed to give elderly poor Americans more control over the money they do have, and more ability to pass it to their children.
Combined, these three government institutions, which were meant to alleviate poverty, have done little to do so. Over the next two years, I will explain how they can be reformed to not only “do no harm,” but to give poor citizens more opportunities to capture the American dream. The government should not be in the business of building roadblocks to that dream; instead it should allow for institutions to be put in place to guide more Americans along its path.
“I’m a libertarian because I’m a liberal. In other words, I support small-government, free-market policies because I believe they provide the institutional framework best suited to advancing the liberal values of individual autonomy, tolerance, and open-mindedness. Liberalism is my bottom line; libertarianism is a means to promoting that end.” -Brink Lindsey
I’ve been contemplating this sentiment for some time now, and just stumbled across Lindsey’s words today. That about sums it up.
The “killing” of U.S. census worker Bill Sparkman that was “motivated by right-wing radio and television hosts” has turned out to be a suicide. When news broke a few months ago that Sparkman was found dead in Clay County Kentucky, the netroots went off, blaming any and all right leaning commentators for the man’s death.
Here are a few things major players in the netroots said:
If conservative politicians and opinion leaders keep stoking fears about the government using census data to steal from or perhaps even round up law-abiding citizens, I am concerned that mentally unstable individuals will commit further acts of violence against census-takers next year. Republicans should condemn the hatemongers and make clear that the census is not only permitted, but required under the Constitution.
“No Suicide: That’s the one thing we know for certain now in the case of the Kentucky lynching….But the most worrying possibility – that this is Southern populist terrorism, whipped up by the GOP and its Fox and talk radio cohorts – remains real. We’ll see.”
The gruesome lynching of this Census worker seems to bear a disturbing similarity to some of the worst hate crimes committed across this country. Regardless of what the motive for the killing may have been, why would a murderer(s) take such pains to so blatantly convey anger, fear, and vitriol towards a Census employee? Perhaps because some on the right have created an impression that Census employees are terrifying.
Earlier this summer, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) waged a high-profile, wildly-dishonest campaign against the Census.
From this profile of the cancer survivor and volunteer, it appears suicide is unlikely. We’ll find out. But at some point, unhinged hostility to the federal government, whipped up by the Becks, can become violence. That’s what Pelosi was worried about.
Send the body to Glenn Beck…Is it possible that the time has come for the FCC to consider exactly what constitutes screaming fire over the publicly owned airwaves? And what if Mr. Sparkman’s murderer(s) is never found? How many other lunatics will be emboldened to make their own anti-government statement as the voices of Beck, Limbaugh and Dobbs echo in their ears?
Nobody ever intended our public airwaves to be turned over to irresponsible voices. Maybe the time has come for the FCC to worry a bit less about wardrobe malfunctions and a whole lot more about those who would use our airwaves to make a name for themselves at the expense of the public they are suppose to serve–particularly when the expense comes in the form of blood.
You would think that an apology would be in order for jumping so quickly to conclusions. But mark my words, you won’t hear it. Sure, some might come out and say, “Okay, sorry, but it could still happen!” That’s the best you’ll see.
For anyone interested in getting into politics: If you have any regard for intellectual honesty, this is the most bankrupt industry you can get yourself involved in. You can say whatever you want about whomever you want, and you won’t be held accountable for it. You will use dishonesty in any way to make sure your side wins. If that sounds like you, hop a plane to Washington. This the only place in the country hiring anyway.
UPDATE: MyDD apologizes in the way I said they would:
Update [2009-11-24 21:00:02 by Nathan Empsall]: Well this is big news. And I’ll echo what desmoinesdem said: mea culpa and apologies for jumping the gun myself as well. I too stand by my point that the behavior of the fringe can lead to violence, but thankfully this was not, as we had each assumed, an example of such. Sometimes it’s nice to be wrong.
For stating it wasn’t a suicide, based on eye-witness accounts and my own common sense, I apologize. It was premature. For directly accusing far right extremists, as opposed to thinking it was a worrying possibility, I plead not guilty. Because I didn’t.
I just picked up my old copy of Audacity of Hope, which I read while commercial fishing in Alaska. I forgot to bring my journal one day, but had the book with me, so I wrote a short entry in the back pages.
July 18, 2007
Bear Island, Alaska
For the first time since I arrived, the captain has given us a mid-morning break. We have been working ridiculously hard for the past few days, pulling up the nets, clearing the mess of kelp from the North Pacific and loading them back into the boats. In a few minutes we will head back out to the water and do it all over again.
I left my journal up in my room, so the only thing I have to write on is the back cover of Obama’s book. It just seems like the perfect day to sit and write. The air is cool and a soft rain is falling on the beach in front of me. I sit quietly on the make-shift swing that hangs in the warehouse down by the water.
The sound of the ocean is soothing after a hard morning’s work. All the other guys have abandoned their gear and run up to their rooms for a quick nap. I chose to stay near the water. It isn’t so often that we get any type of break like this. There is always more work to be done around here.
Alaska is a place of both magnificent beauty and great fury. It is that very majesty that can both marvel the senses and take your life at the same time. The dark Alaskan sea that flows before me is a mysterious beauty that is to be severely respected. I will leave here with a far greater admiration for nature (and her power) than when I arrived nearly two months ago.
These are formative times in my life. I came to this frontier knowing that time is both on my side and working against me at the same time. Before I leave this small island, I will turn 22 years old. Still young, but quickly growing old. I am already asking myself where the time went. It feels like just last week I was 18. Heaven only knows what it must be like to wake up 40 years from now with the same feeling I have today.
But I want at least to be able to look back on these days when I had the freedom to drop everything and move to a tiny rock 4,000 miles from everything I know and love.
