Quote:
Originally posted by Rudey
I'm still waiting for someone to discuss the proven link of abortions among the poor and lowered crime. Is that classist/elitist even if it's true? If you replace poor with black is that racist?
-Rudey
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This needs to be touched up just a tad. The issue that Levitt brings up in Freakonomics is not simply poor people. There are many more factors in place than simply Socioeconomic status.
If I remember correctly, (the book is out in my car and I don't feel like getting it), what is more specifically argued is that the women who are most likely to get an abortion, are also the most likely to have characteristics of mothers that lead to an increased level of delinquency. These women who are most likely to get an abortion are more likely to be young, single, uneducated, substance abusers, victims of abuse and so forth. Socioeconomic status is only one piece of that puzzle.
Levitt doesn't go far into how these are things that predict higher levels of crime,(if I remember correctly), but I graduated with a degree in Sociology, so I have heard and seen plenty on this topic including a full 300 level course just on Juvenile Delinquency.
Each of these factors is a predictor for juvenile delinquency or is a predictor for lowered levels of things like "attachment" to their children which is associated with higher levels of crime (how attached would you expect someone to be to an unwanted child). Further, their position in life is more likely to make them live in areas with heightened crime rates, which in turn increases the likelihood of crime participation.
Because this is a complex issue, with many facets, I don't think that one can simply boil it down to a case of rich vs. poor (unlike a lot of other things.)