Freakonomics

Just recently I found this book at the local book store titled Freakonomics . The book is a very interesting list of reasons from a economist's point of view why certian things happen. One very interesting topic was the reason for crime to lower in the late 90's. In the early 90's, many crime experts said the crime would rise 50%, while it actually dropped 50%, the reasons why were puzzling to the experts. Here the economist Steven Levitt explains that while many people considered gun laws and further police training to make the biggest impact they overlooked the most important piece of the puzzle.

In the 70's a major law was found and won on the courts was Roe vs. Wade, the abortion rights across the nation. Here Levitt explains that since many poorer parents would not want their children they would be more likely to have them aborted. These same children who should have grown up to become criminals 20 years later, now were never born and this would be the reason for the crime drop 20 years later.

It's a very interesting idea and I agree that it does make more sense that any gun law or police traning program.


Gun Control

Does gun control really stop crime? I'm not sure but I think it's a simple fix to a bigger problem. The view of the public might see guns in the news and think that by stopping the sale of certian firearms this would stop the criminals on the street but it's really not the exact truth.

Many crime experts say that it's still very easy to find guns on the street to buy. Also the people who are doing the most crime can not legally purchase a gun so the added gun laws do not stop him or her. It's a very debated subject and I do see both view points but would rather see more push for added laws stopping repeat criminals rather than more gun control laws.

Here's the Wiki on Gun Control that has pros and cons on the subject.

Gun Control Wiki

Rob