At 07:30 AM 8/22/97 +0200, Anonymous wrote:
Welfare Solution #389: Many in the welfair class have their basic needs met by the government and then steal to buy heroin. How about this? - When a person on welfare is busted for heroin use, or theft to support a habit, the State thereafter sends the person's welfare check to a Crime Restitution fund and lets the person keep stealing, only now it is for the purpose of supplying their own basic needs.
In NY, when a defendant gets convicted of a crime including a drug offense, s/he has to pay a mandatory surcharge part of which is a Crime Victims' Fee. [Query: who is the victim in a drug case? -- but I digress...]. Also, if it was a crime where the victim suffered financial losses, the defendant not only has to pay the Crime Victim's Fee but also restitution to the victim. Additionally, pursuant to Federal Law, anyone convicted of a drug charge and, who is residing is federally-subsidized housing, becomes subject to eviction proceedings. [Quirk: if one family member is engaged in such business activities, the entire family is captured under the law's umbrella but, again, I digress..].
The crime rate stays the same, but the victims receive some amount of recompensation.
So-called crime rates are subject to the compilation *and* interpretation of statistics, and for those of us who were lucky enough to have studied Statistics, we know that these so-called statistical rates are ripe for producing the desired results versus providing an accurate statistical account. Case in point: Prior to Reagan's Administration, the Armed Forces were never included in the employed or non-employed categories. Reagan added the Armed Forces to the employed category, and the masses were tickled pink when the government announced that employment rates increased dramatically.
Damn, I'm smart...
Since I don't know you, I am in no position to comment. You may be smart, highly intelligent, or a genius - or you may possess the analytical processes of a gerbil. Whichever category you are within, perhaps you should keep in mind the old saying: "It's a thin line between genius and insanity." [A little appetizer for thought...]. ************************************************************************** Lynne L. Harrison, Esq. | Lazlo's Chinese Relatively Axiom: Poughkeepsie, New York | "No matter how great your triumphs or lharrison@mhv.net | how tragic your defeats, approximately http://www.dueprocess.com | one billion Chinese couldn't care less." ************************************************************************** DISCLAIMER: I am not your attorney; you are not my client. Accordingly, the above is *NOT* legal advice.