It’s a sad fact, but still a fact that when economic situations take a downward spiral, the crime rate shoots for the stars! The relationship between the two seems to be on a teeter totter. When one goes down, the other automatically goes up.
People lose their jobs, and the calm, serene life they are used to having goes out the window. So does their security of knowing where their next meal is coming from or how they will pay the rent. For a majority of people who lose their jobs there are no other jobs to replace them with. They are at the mercy of the community or their 401K or retirement savings to bail them out. If they don’t gain employment elsewhere immediately it is left required for them to seek assistance from unemployment, food pantries, and other sources to sustain their families. At this point it becomes very difficult for them to meet the very necessities for survival. This is where some think they are at the end of their rope and have to start stealing to get necessities. Others think that trafficking drugs is their only way out.
Loss of finances is a stressor on any family. Not only is it a stress on the family, but on the community as a whole. When the job market becomes so stressed that someone has to die or retire to get a job, where is the hope that things will get better. We hear that Wall Street is getting bailed out, but the hope and help of any bailout for Main Street seems non-existent. They send a few dollars to the unemployed ($25 a week). This might buy a loaf of bread and gallon of milk, if you are lucky. The big companies are getting wallpapered with cash, while the little guys are starving.
There are very few people who have built a safety net to fall back into when they find themselves out of a job. Most middle and lower class people are required to spread their finances so thin to begin with that they did not have the extra money to save for a rainy day. These are the people who stay up all night worrying and stressed about what to do. At this point, most people can’t see that there is any hope of things getting better. There are promises, but where is it in reality? The reality is drugs are lucrative and easy to get. Guns are on the streets, and people under extreme stresses tend to not think before they act. Murders, theft, and drugs are the result of poor economic situations. Yes, there will always be these crimes, but as long as jobs are being lost in the droves, these crimes will be on the rise.
