Chapter 4 Freakonomics

So far this is the BEST chapter in my opinion . I really really really was into this reading. First off in the begining, reading that the king and queen bugged their OWN childern to ensure their loyalty, was crazy to me. It just showed me hoe greedy people can be, regardless of who you are to them. More so , I agreed with the statement that basically said punishment wasn't that servere so criminals comtinued to commit crimes. Thats like if I got caught texting on my cell phone and my punishment was just satying after school for ten extra mins, and that was it, Im pretty sure me and a lot of other students wouldnt care if we were caught on our phones. The tedious punishment doesnt frighten us at all therefore we continue to commit the "crime". Same goes for criminals.


I never knew , or I dont remember learning, that a single inmate cost 25,000 dollars to keep locked up! Now Im wondering what kind of lifestyle the inmates are living. Comfortable ? Relaxed ? Technology based ? What kind of meals are they being severed ? What does their showers look loke ? 25,00 dollars for a "criminal", makes me wonder if jail really seems like jail or a free (for the inamates) vacation.


Personally, Im against the death penalty. I believe no one has the right to take some elses life, besides God. However, I thought it was interesting how capital punishment DIDNT have much to do with the drop of crime and criminals. Being as though is the CAPITAL punishment I would think a lot of people would be scared and want to avoid crime. Again, I would think more police would lower crime because with the sight of police throughout the day I would think people would be nervous and hesitant to conduct ant illeagal activity woth police less than miles away.


I was EXTREMELY excited when I came accross this next part ... "the broken window theory" ! I learned about this during my 12th grade year in high school. Knowing more than what this book explained, I totally understand why crime lowered. It's sort out of the box thinking, but when you sit back and think about it makes a world of sense. Small things lead to big changes. AGAIN small things lead to big changes. For example of I had a small pep rally of about ten students, talking about the danger of alcohol, that small few could spread the word to a bigger crowd, resulting in a even bigger change.. less people may drink alcohol. Point being that fixing a small problem can lead to fixing of bigger problems and but haults on epidemics.


Also, I was shocked to know that if handing out guns, you would run out of adults before guns. Thats a lot of guns laying around! I dont support that Brady Act at. Like the book says, there are so many guns out there and so many straw purchasers that anybody can gget a gun and whenever they want it. I dont think background checks would help, especailly whenthere is illeagal gun purchasing going on. People cam easily lie or hide information.


I thought smoking weed was going on todat more than using cocaine. To hear that people still use it heavy today is surprising for some reason. Maybe because I dont hear people talk about it to much and I thought you could face a really long time behind bars if it were found in your possession, so I guess I figured people stayed away from it.


I agree that a mothers decision to have an abortion should be completley up to her, and for what ever reason is a good reason at the end of the day. If a mother oisnt confident to have a child , why should the child have to suffer ? Regardless of shes an unfit mother or if the child will add to the statistics of criminals. Both arent good situations. Growing up in an environment where you dont feel wanted and loved can cause you to want to turn to other destructive things. A child may be looking for attention or just doesnt care about their future because nobody cared about them and therefore they might not care about where they end up.


I liked the way this chapter tied everything up at the end. Showing a correlation and providing accurate and excellent supporting details. Loved it !


See you guys outside ! Lol =)