Finally Some Action Against Money Laundering

"Another major story from yesterday is that the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has finalized two rules that will work to stop corruption and money laundering in U.S. residential real estate and in private investment.

"This is a big deal. As scholar of kleptocracies Casey Michel put it: 'This is a massive, massive deal in the world of counter-kleptocracy—the U.S. is finally ending the gargantuan anti-money laundering loopholes for real estate, private equity, hedge funds, and more. Can't overstate how important this is. What a feat.'”

Click here for more information about money laundering in this installment of Heather Cox Richardson's regular "Letters from an American."

Don't Believe The Lies: Democrats Best Against Crime And For The Economy

US Crime Rates At Historic Lows

The FBI released its latest Uniform Crime Reporting survey last week that revealed a notable positive trend continuing across the US—with violent and property crimes dropping by double digits.

Compared to January through March 2023, data from the first quarter of 2024 indicates that reported violent crime decreased by 15.2 percent.

Murder decreased by more than 26 percent.

Rape is down by 25.7 percent.

Robbery dropped by 17.8 percent.

Aggravated assault reports decreased by 12.5 percent.

Property crime also decreased by just over 15 percent.

The report includes data from more than 18,000 city, county, state, tribal, university and college, and federal law enforcement agencies.

https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/us-crime-rate-drops-to-historic-lows-new-q1-stats-show/

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Surging crime levels, out-of-control Democratic cities and 'migrant crime.'

Former President Donald Trump regularly cites all three at his campaign rallies, in news releases and on Truth Social, often saying President Joe Biden and Democrats are to blame.

But the crime picture Trump paints contrasts sharply with years of police and government data at both the local and national levels.

FBI statistics released this year suggested a steep drop in crime across the country last year. It's a similar story across major cities, with violent crime down year over year in Chicago, New York and Washington, D.C.

NBC News analyzed crime data to evaluate Trump's assertions about the topic.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trumps-claims-crime-rates-clash-police-data-rcna145353


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Democratic Administrations Have Economic Advantage Since 1949

Since 1949, there has been a Democratic advantage in the average performance of key macroeconomic indicators measuring economic health, including: 

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth
Job growth
Unemployment rate
Growth in inflation-adjusted wages
Growth of market-based incomes per capita
Inflation
Interest rates

This Democratic advantage is across the board in all variables we measure but strongest in private-sector outcomes—notably, business investment, job growth, and the growth of market-based incomes.

Household income growth (adjusted for inflation) was faster on average and far more equal during Democratic administrations, and the Democratic advantage shows up for every group.

https://www.epi.org/publication/econ-performance-pres-admin/

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Increase In Inequality = Increase In Crime?

"Corporate news wants you to feel like * crime is on the rise. But could it actually be that the forces turning your fellow Americans into criminals stems from inequality? Even in the animal kingdom, they can spot a con when they see one… "

Click on the link below for a 6-min video that presents evidence in support of the causal link between inequality and crime:

The Real Reason Crime Is Rising In America

* Is crime REALLY rising in the USA? (link)

US Immigration And Crime: Beware Of Republican Gaslighting

"Across a variety of studies that use different years of data that focus on different areas of the United States – with some exceptions, there’s some nuance there. I don’t want to deny the nuance – in general, on average, we do not find a connection between immigration and crime, as is so often claimed. The most common finding across all these different kinds of studies is that immigration to an area is either not associated with crime in that area, or is negatively associated with crime in that area. This means more immigration equals less crime. It’s rare to find studies that show crime following increases in immigration or with larger percentage of the population that are immigrants."

Click on the link below for more:

What EXPERTS Say About Immigration And Crime

The Grift Culture

"Today, we take a look at just some of the nearly infinite ways in which our society, culture, and economy are infused from top to bottom with Scam Culture™ that is bleeding us dry both financially and mentally."

Grift: to acquire money or property illicitly (as in a confidence game)

Click on the link below for an in-depth look at what is behind so much in the USA:

The Grift of Life

Republican America Is Worse Than Democrat America

Republicans like to lie about the difference between rural Republican areas of the US as compared to the more urban Democratic areas. 

Click on the link below that presents the FACTS that are readily available. Note how they are comparing per capita statistics and not the gross numbers that distort the truth because of the generally less populated areas:

The Truth About Red And Blue USA

Local News And Police Departments

"John Oliver discusses the outlets that cover crime, the incentives that drive them, the flawed sources they rely upon, and an alternative name for Miss Piggy."

If you watch local news, you know what the focus is: crime. The problem is that you are not getting the full picture of such. Click on the link below for a video produced by John Oliver, a master of science-based investigative reporting with a comic twist:

Crime Reporting: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

History Of Hate Crime Legislation

"Hate crimes in the United States have reached their highest levels in more than a decade, prompting bipartisan support for legislation to combat them and increased resources for law enforcement. But the recent COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act has spurred resistance from an unexpected source: activist groups that represent the people these laws are meant to protect.

"This week on The Experiment, our correspondent, Tracie Hunte, investigates the 150-year history of legislating against racist violence in the U.S. and asks: Have we been policing hate all wrong?"

Click on the link below for an enlightening podcast on the subject:

The Hate Crime Conundrum

Better Ways To Handle Prisoners?

Historically, the USA has emphasized punishment of its prisoners rather than rehabilitation.  This 60 Minutes episode looks at  different approaches and their results.