355 online
 
Most Popular Choices
Share on Facebook 66 Printer Friendly Page More Sharing Summarizing
OpEdNews Op Eds    H2'ed 1/28/22

If a Criminal Becomes President -- Do You Get More Crime?

By       (Page 1 of 4 pages)   20 comments

Thom Hartmann
Message Thom Hartmann
Become a Fan
  (139 fans)

Reprinted from hartmannreport.com

Trump
Trump
(Image by IoSonoUnaFotoCamera)
  Details   DMCA

After four years of America having a professional, lifelong criminal as our president, is it any wonder crime is up?

Years ago when Nextdoor.com rolled out, Louise signed up to see what was happening in our neighborhood; back then it was mostly people offering kittens, trying to find their lost dogs, or begging neighbors to take piles of zucchini. Today, in many parts of the country, it's become a running list of assaults and burglaries.

Crime is up and people are noticing. Which means it'll get political, and fast.

Republicans are planning to make crime a big issue this fall for the elections: Newt Gingrich just pointed out on Fox how well it worked for Glen Youngkin in Virginia and they see it as a template for November.

It's a scheme rich with irony. On the other hand it will probably work for them: Democrats need to get ready now.

So where is this crimewave coming from?

Part of it, no doubt, is associated with people being out of work or out of school, and may resolve itself as people get back to work and back to school.

Part of it is probably associated with how the pandemic exacerbated the homelessness crisis.

And numerous studies over the years has shown a clear association between increases in crime following increases in economic inequality, which has gone up in America over the past few years because of the Trump tax cuts and four decades of neoliberal economic policies.

But it would be impossible to discuss the pervasiveness of crime today without talking about the criminal who occupied the White House.

After four years of America having a professional, lifelong criminal as our president, is it any wonder that crime is up?

Criminality - like morality - flows from the top down.

Remember Enron? A professional corporate criminal named Ken Lay started the company in 1985, during the Reagan "greed is good" heyday of corporate crime. Hundreds of charges and indictments later, America found that Lay had succeeded in corrupting not only his company's own employees, but also corrupted and thus destroyed the Arthur Anderson accounting firm, one of the five biggest in the nation.

Pandemic binge-watchers may be more familiar with the storylines of the streaming shows Billions, Yellowstone or Succession. All show the power of culture being defined by a ruthless rule-breaker at the top.

Next Page  1  |  2  |  3  |  4

(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).

Funny 2   Valuable 2   Must Read 1  
Rate It | View Ratings

Thom Hartmann Social Media Pages: Facebook page url on login Profile not filled in       Twitter page url on login Profile not filled in       Linkedin page url on login Profile not filled in       Instagram page url on login Profile not filled in

Thom Hartmann is a Project Censored Award-winning New York Times best-selling author, and host of a nationally syndicated daily progressive talk program on the Air America Radio Network, live noon-3 PM ET. www.thomhartmann.com His most recent books are "The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight," "Unequal Protection: The Rise of Corporate Dominance and the Theft of Human Rights," "We The People," "What Would Jefferson Do?," "Screwed: The Undeclared War Against the Middle (more...)
 

Go To Commenting
The views expressed herein are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.
Writers Guidelines

 
Contact AuthorContact Author Contact EditorContact Editor Author PageView Authors' Articles
Support OpEdNews

OpEdNews depends upon can't survive without your help.

If you value this article and the work of OpEdNews, please either Donate or Purchase a premium membership.

STAY IN THE KNOW
If you've enjoyed this, sign up for our daily or weekly newsletter to get lots of great progressive content.
Daily Weekly     OpEd News Newsletter
Name
Email
   (Opens new browser window)
 

Most Popular Articles by this Author:     (View All Most Popular Articles by this Author)

S&P Blames Republicans, Mainstream Media Fails to Report It

Globalization Is Killing The Globe: Return to Local Economies

The Uncanny, Frightening Ways That Trump's America Mirrors Hitler's Germany

The Great Tax Con Job

The Truth about the Trust Fund-- Destroying Social Security to Destroy the Two Party System

The Deciding Moment: The Theft of Human Right

To View Comments or Join the Conversation:

Tell A Friend