Thursday, November 27, 2014

FERGUSON: Economics of despair. Driving people of color into Poverty

http://www.latimes.com/business/hiltzik/la-fi-mh-the-ferguson-crisis-20140821-column.html

"By disproportionately stopping, charging, and fining the poor and minorities, by closing the Courts to the public, and by incarcerating people for the failure to pay fines, these policies unintentionally push the poor further into poverty, prevent the homeless from accessing the housing, treatment, and jobs they so desperately need to regain stability in their lives, and violate the Constitution." And they increase suspicion and disrespect for the system.
Tabarrok points to the report's observation that the Ferguson court processed the equivalent of three warrants and $312 in fines per household in 2013.
"You don't get $321 in fines and fees and 3 warrants per household from an about-average crime rate," he notes. "You get numbers like this from [B.S.] arrests for jaywalking" and what the report calls "low level harassment involving traffic stops, court appearances, high fines, and the threat of jail for failure to pay without a meaningful inquiry into whether an individual has the means to pay."
Why was Michael Brown originally stopped? Yes, for jaywalking.

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