Thanks for your email.
Yes, there is lots of theft in Mexico, most of it born of poverty.
It is also true that immigrants to the United States are less likely to commit crime than native-born Americans.
"Immigrants To U.S. Less Likely To Commit Crime Than The Native Population," Wall St. Journal
To its credit, the Catholic Church teaches that "theft" - when prompted by dire need - is not sinful but rather a necessary re-allocation of resources.
In "the Roman view," resources comprise a Global Patrimony, which, when properly distributed, do justify the existence of private property but only within the overarching context of The Common Good. ("Any text without a context is a pretext.")
Sarah Palin: Ardent Advocate Of Wealth Redistribution
Aquinas noted that "sin" is always accompanied by loss of perspective/proportion. He also noted that sin is characterized by "loss of splendor." Imagine: 'Splendidness is virtue. Loss of splendidness is sin.'
Today, not one in ten thousand Christians is even aware of Aquinas' insight.
Today, not one in ten thousand Christians is even aware of Aquinas' insight.
The opening scene of Les Miserables in which Jean Valjean steals a loaf of bread to feed his hungry family -- and is then sent to prison for decades of hard labor -- is a useful illustration of how "crime and punishment" manifest in the dominance/submission hierarchy of America. (Les Miserables was my Dad's favorite novel: I was raised "in its light.")
American Plutocracy: Who's Punished And Who's Not
Decades ago, Jay Leno observed that theft and violence in the Soviet Union were chiefly perpetrated by the government... whereas in the United States "we surrender these functions to the private sector."
The worst thieves -- whether measured by dollar amount or psycho-social devastation -- are those magnates who deliberately create "boom/bust economic cycles" from which they profit "on the upside" and again "on the downside."
For the wealthy, it does not matter if markets are "going up" or "down."
The 1% profits even when markets are plummeting.
They do this by taking "short positions," investment strategies that bet against the economy, strategies that want the economy to fail.
Many American fortunes are made by movers-and-shakers totally uninterested in the promotion of economic health, instead capitalizing on the moral void at the center of Cowboy Capitalism, a kind of heartlessness made giddy by calamity.
"The truth is we are all caught in an economic system which is heartless."
Woodrow Wilson
At bottom, "collective impoverishment" is a bonanza for "individual market movers."
Here's how 1% Cynicism "works."
"Inside Job"
Oscar Award-winning documentary on the origins of The Great Recession
Between 2007 and 2010, The Net Worth Of American Families Plummeted 40%
http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2013/03/between-2007-and-2010-family-net-worth.html
Every American magnate is affiliated with banking institutions that are "too big to fail."
And unable to fail, Joe Taxpayer will - as night follows day - short-circuit the next economic collapse with the next bailout.
The bedrock dependability of "taxpayer bailout" not only fleeces your estate (and your friend's estate) but encourages these vile people to take ridiculous investment risks, fully aware that their laughable bets often reap huge profits, almost always enough profit to offset loss.
Here's the rub...
Investment bankers also know that if enough of their risky investments go "belly up" they still "strike pay dirt" because taxpayer bailout covers their losses.
And unable to fail, Joe Taxpayer will - as night follows day - short-circuit the next economic collapse with the next bailout.
The bedrock dependability of "taxpayer bailout" not only fleeces your estate (and your friend's estate) but encourages these vile people to take ridiculous investment risks, fully aware that their laughable bets often reap huge profits, almost always enough profit to offset loss.
Here's the rub...
Investment bankers also know that if enough of their risky investments go "belly up" they still "strike pay dirt" because taxpayer bailout covers their losses.
Bank of America: Too Pig To Fail
Consider...
Starting with The Great Recession in 2008, the Federal Reserve has loaned big banks hundreds of billions (perhaps trillions) of dollars at 0% interest rate (yes, zero percent!) through a mechanism called "The Federal Discount Window."
Immediately, these banks turn around and loan the government's Gift Money at 2% or more.
Starting with The Great Recession in 2008, the Federal Reserve has loaned big banks hundreds of billions (perhaps trillions) of dollars at 0% interest rate (yes, zero percent!) through a mechanism called "The Federal Discount Window."
Immediately, these banks turn around and loan the government's Gift Money at 2% or more.
This standard operating procedure gives banks "money for nothing," the newest feature of the cozy relationship that has always existed between the federal government and Cowboy Capitalism.
If an insignificant smidgen of this Big Bank bonanza had been given to "welfare queens," American conservatives would be apoplectic - purple veins throbbing in their necks, blood oozing from their eyes.
Here are some useful resources if you - or your friend - wish to probe more deeply.
"Politics And Economics: The 101 Courses You Wish You Had"
"Politics And Economics: The 101 Courses You Wish You Had"
"Plutocracy Triumphant"
Cartoon Compendium
Pax tecum
Alan
PS Mexicans tend to be punctiliously honest in their extended families and small communities. While my children were growing up, I knew that if it were ever necessary to "flee the country," I would immediately entrust them to Mexican friends, not gringo career climbers who are typically too busy with material acquisition to devote themselves to child-rearing and the sustained ministrations of love. I will also note that since the "urge to acquire" is the very oxygen we breathe, Americans do not realize the extent to which Capitalism has corrupted us all, down to the roots of our souls.
Pope Francis has a very good grip on "the devil's dung."
Francis "follows the money" relentlessly, never distracted by race-baiting and xenophobia which, at every turn, prove the dictum: "Mediocre philosophy sells: it makes the half-literate feel smart."
Francis "follows the money" relentlessly, never distracted by race-baiting and xenophobia which, at every turn, prove the dictum: "Mediocre philosophy sells: it makes the half-literate feel smart."
"Pope Francis Links"
"Bad Black People." Why Bill O'Reilly Is Wrong Even When He's Right"
"Bad Black People." Why Bill O'Reilly Is Wrong Even When He's Right"
PPS: Your friend may also be interested in:
Donald Trump Proposed The Biggest Tax Hike Ever - Enough To Make Bernie Sanders Blush
http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2015/08/donald-trump-proposed-biggest-tax-hike.html
PPS Mexico's ruling class refuses to pay its police a living wage. As a result, Mexican cops "must" extort and rob in order to "make ends meet." This hierarchically-obligated thievery brings the fringe benefit of corrupting "los de abajo" so that everyone has blood on their hands - so that everyone is part of "The Mob." (This refusal to pay a living wage is not just Mexico's problem. It is a core -- even linchpin -- problem that afflicts almost every "country in development."
On Sat, Aug 8, 2015 at 10:57 AM, GH wrote:
Begin forwarded message:
From: GDSubject: a questionDate: August 8, 2015To: Alan Archibald
Alan, I was conversing with a friend about Trump's statements about Hispanic immigrants, crime, etc. My friend asserted that stealing is absolutely culturally acceptable in Mexico. She had visited there (not sure when) and stood by her statement.
I've sent her this URL:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact-checker/wp/2015/07/ 08/donald-trumps-false- comments-connecting-mexican- immigrants-and-crime/
Since you have spent much time in Mexico, I'd like to share your experience in this regard...
Thanks!
M D
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