Is Caldwell singing praise Graham Nash's Prison Song?
I always read Christopher Caldwell with much interest but, this time, his “Financial crime and punishment” March 24, leaves me quite at loss about where he wants to take us.
Yes, of course there is a qualitatively difference between those who use guns and crowbars to violate people physically and those that defraud, but let us acknowledge that part of it could be explained by guns and crowbars not being the most appropriate tools for crimes in the financial world, where dirty accounting will get you much further.
When Caldwell hints that the current drive to persecute white collar crime could be a way to average out a reality where so many black, poor, or both are in jail on drug related charges, he must be aware of that he is solely speculating. With 740 imprisoned for each 100.000 of their population, compared to UK’s 124, it is clear that the US cannot afford such solution. It is indeed shameful when white collar crime get prosecuted only for political reasons, but also when the same happens to blue collar crime.
Finally let me comment about the economic crimes that are committed by those who do not live up to their political responsibility. It is never quite clear what color of collar the politicians wear, since they change them a lot depending on the audience, but yet, when we look around in the world at the damages they cause, we must conclude that most bank robbers and Skillings and Ebbers, do frequently look like very small fish. I ask, where do they prosecute a Zimbabwe’s Mugabe?
Yes, of course there is a qualitatively difference between those who use guns and crowbars to violate people physically and those that defraud, but let us acknowledge that part of it could be explained by guns and crowbars not being the most appropriate tools for crimes in the financial world, where dirty accounting will get you much further.
When Caldwell hints that the current drive to persecute white collar crime could be a way to average out a reality where so many black, poor, or both are in jail on drug related charges, he must be aware of that he is solely speculating. With 740 imprisoned for each 100.000 of their population, compared to UK’s 124, it is clear that the US cannot afford such solution. It is indeed shameful when white collar crime get prosecuted only for political reasons, but also when the same happens to blue collar crime.
Finally let me comment about the economic crimes that are committed by those who do not live up to their political responsibility. It is never quite clear what color of collar the politicians wear, since they change them a lot depending on the audience, but yet, when we look around in the world at the damages they cause, we must conclude that most bank robbers and Skillings and Ebbers, do frequently look like very small fish. I ask, where do they prosecute a Zimbabwe’s Mugabe?
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