A few months back, I blogged about what I termed the “Prison Paradox“: “The number of Americans in state and federal prisons has quintupled since 1980, and a major reason is that prisoners serve longer terms than before” “The shift … Continue reading
Search Results for: prisoner paradox
Transparency Thursday: The Prison Paradox
It would seem natural that longer prison sentences would reduce crime. Given a stronger punishment, the “costs” of performing a crime should outweigh the benefits, causing a would-be criminal to rethink his actions and possibly decide against committing a crime. … Continue reading
Economic Outlook: The High Cost(S) of Being Poor
I have previously written about different poverty traps in America, including our outdated criminal justice system (the “prisoner paradox”) and the developmental impacts of stress passed from mother to child. If these poverty traps seemed a bit abstract, consider a more … Continue reading
Transparency Report: In Opposition of Reduced Gun Penalties
Last Friday I went shooting at a gun range with some friends, the first time I had ever done so, and I had a blast. This experience reinforced what I have always known–there are legitimate reasons to own a firearm … Continue reading
When “Race Blind” Policies are Progressive, and When They Aren’t
In this blog I will paint with broad strokes. In reality each of the issues I will touch on–income and wealth inequality, our criminal justice system, racism and globalization–are interrelated and have complex historical underpinnings. I hope it will inspire … Continue reading
Criminal Justice Deformed
In past blogs I wrote about the “Prison Paradox“–the idea that incarceration in America has gotten so out of control that it may actually increase crime by creating a poverty trap and perpetuating prison culture. I wrote about the topic … Continue reading
Economic Outlook: The “Neighborhood Effect” on Social Mobility
The “Neighborhood Effect” on Personal Development: In a recent blog, we examined Harvard economist Raj Chetty’s study on the “Neighborhood Effect” on social mobility–how where a child grows up impacts the life he or she comes to live. The neighborhood one grows … Continue reading
Transparency Report: Reconciling The Micro and Macro Narratives on Police Reform
Original article: Statistically, New York police shoot more often at blacks than at whites–by about 700 percent. But, statistically blacks are armed and shoot at police more often than whites–by over 700 percent, according to national statistics and the NYPD’s annual firearms discharge report. Recently, … Continue reading
Ferguson, MO: Justice is a Dish Best Served Well Done
I will not comment on the actual decision not to indict Darren Wilson; I was not at the scene of the crime, and even amongst those who were, there are differing accounts of what happened. I trust the judicial process … Continue reading
Economic Outlook: Free College Education For All (Including Prison Inmates)
Taking the above quote to the extreme, defending something because it is “how we currently do it” is an even more “dangerous” way of thinking. America’s public college and prison systems are currently flawed. Prison reform has gained traction because it … Continue reading
Normative Narratives 