Josh Crawford Joins the John Butler Show

by Josh Crawford | Aug 23, 2024

Georgia news, in the news, current events, Georgia happenings, GA happenings

Josh Crawford Joins the John Butler Show

In this engaging interview, Josh Crawford, a respected criminal justice specialist, shares his insights on pressing issues related to public safety, crime trends, and effective law enforcement strategies. Hosted by John Butler, the conversation delves into the challenges of rising crime rates across urban centers, the impact of recent policies, and the role of federal and local governments in curbing violence.

Crawford discusses the importance of adequately funding law enforcement, the consequences of defunding initiatives, and the necessity of focusing on high-risk offenders. He also touches on the implications of immigration on crime and how policy changes at the local and state levels have influenced public safety. Offering a balanced perspective, Crawford highlights the need for targeted interventions prioritizing best practices over feel-good solutions.

Whether you’re concerned about crime in your community or interested in the broader implications of criminal justice policies, this interview provides a thought-provoking analysis of the issues at hand.

Josh Crawford on the John Butler Show

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Report: Safety-net programs discourage career advancement

by Georgia Center for Opportunity | Aug 21, 2024

Report: Safety-net programs discourage career advancement

While safety-net programs such as Medicaid and food stamps support those in need, they “discourage career advancement,” according to new research from the Georgia Center for Opportunity.

The group’s “Workforce Engagement: A Missing Link in Understanding Income Inequality” examines the drivers behind perceived “income inequality” and offers what the group described as “actionable policy solutions.”

The group also suggested offering work incentives for part-time workers to help them move into full-time roles and increase access to vocational training and educational resources.

“The number of hours worked plays a crucial role in driving upward mobility for households in the bottom quintile,” Jason Gaby, a research fellow at GCO and author of the report, said in a release. “By increasing their working hours and transitioning to full-time employment, these individuals can significantly improve their financial standing,” Gaby added. “We can create an environment where more people can achieve financial stability and independence.”

Read the full article here

Reforming Welfare to Help Americans Thrive with Randy Hicks | Let People Prosper Show Ep. 110

by Randy Hicks | Aug 20, 2024

Reforming Welfare to Help Americans Thrive with Randy Hicks | Let People Prosper Show Ep. 110

Episode 110 of the Let People Prosper Show: Dive into a thought-provoking discussion with Randy Hicks, President and CEO of the Georgia Center for Opportunity (GCO), as he explores how we can reform safety net programs to promote long-term self-sufficiency. Learn about the innovative “one-door approach” and its potential to transform lives beyond mere survival on welfare. Don’t miss this insightful conversation!

Subscribe, share, and rate the Let People Prosper Show. For more insights, visit vanceginn.com.

Watch the full podcast on Youtube.

Poverty and Crime in America: What Can Happen in a Neighborhood When Violent Crime Goes Up

by Josh Crawford | Aug 19, 2024

An empty street and closed businesses illustrate the real-life impact of crime on poverty in a community.

Poverty and Crime in America: What Can Happen in a Neighborhood When Violent Crime Goes Up

Key Points

As Americans become more skeptical of the American Dream, an important issue to address is the link between poverty and violent crime.
Research has found that violent crime negatively affects property values, employment, and outcomes for children.
Providing a safe environment is a core government responsibility, and it’s essential for lowering fear, improving economic mobility, and building healthy communities.

A recent Pew Research Center poll examined American attitudes about the attainability of the American dream. Overall, 53% of respondents believed the American dream was still possible.

Responses were remarkably consistent across race and differed only slightly by party affiliation (56% for Republicans, 50% for Democrats).

Age was the factor where more drastic differences of opinion started to emerge. The younger the cohort, the lower the percentage of respondents who felt the American dream was still possible.

Age 65+: 68% believed the American dream was still possible.
Age 50-64: 61% thought the American dream was still possible.
Age 30-49: 43% felt the American dream was still possible.
Age 18-29: Just 39% agreed the American dream was still possible.

Among the youngest groups, a larger percentage—48% of 30 to 49-year-olds and 51% of 18 to 29-year-olds—thought the American dream was once possible but no longer was.

The current attainability of the American dream is subject to much debate, not fleshed out here. One factor that deserves more attention is the role of public safety in shaping communities where people have opportunities for a better life for themselves and future generations.

Of all the barriers to opportunity, violence is one of the most vicious because it can single-handedly upend all the building blocks of a flourishing life—family stability, access to quality education, and work opportunities. And a disproportionate amount of this suffering is borne by our poorest and most vulnerable communities.

Nearly 50% of According to Pew Research polling, Americans think the American Dream is no possible.

The impact of crime on children

Future generations have a harder time getting ahead in life.

It’s clear from the data that nearly half of children raised in the poorest households—the bottom 20% of incomes—end up in that bottom 20% as adults. A tremendous number of factors contribute to this cycle of poverty—from the flaws in government safety net programs to the affordability of housing to improving educational options and outcomes.

Then there’s the link between poverty and crime. One of the most visceral and heartbreaking things that impacts a child’s upward mobility is growing up in a community with a high rate of violence.

According to the Annie E. Casey Foundation, about 3.6 million kids live in communities their parents deem to be “unsafe.”

The level of violent crime in a county negatively affects the level of upward economic mobility among individuals raised in low-income families. Opportunities decline because high rates of violence reduce productivity among crime victims, depress economic activity, reduce home values, and drive out residents who can leave.

In communities struggling with poverty, violent crime can lead to worse outcomes for kids.

According to the Annie E. Casey Foundation, about 3.6 million kids live in communities their parents deem to be “unsafe.”

The impact of crime on local economies

Communities become economically unhealthy.

A relationship between poverty and crime also manifests itself in the effects that violence has on employment. Several studies have demonstrated that direct victimization is associated with more unemployment and less productivity at work.

A study of violent trauma patients found a positive association between victimization and unemployment.
Another study found that, following the homicide of a family member, employment went down 27% among surviving family members.
In a sample of parents whose children had been murdered, more than 50% of the parents perceived themselves as nonproductive at their jobs in the four months after the murder.

High rates of violent crime don’t just impact victims. Rising crime has been negatively associated with business activity, resulting in downsizing and discouraging new businesses from entering the marketplace.

Neighborhoods then lose out on opportunities for jobs and affordable access to food, household items, and other essential goods and services.

One large analysis looked at the impact of gun violence on the economic health of neighborhoods in six cities: Baton Rouge, LA; Minneapolis, MN; Oakland, CA; Rochester, NY; San Francisco, CA; and Washington, DC. The findings were remarkably consistent. An increase in gun violence in a census tract reduced the growth rate of new retail and service establishments by 4% in Minneapolis, Oakland, San Francisco, and Washington, DC.

In Minneapolis, each additional gun homicide in a census tract in a given year was associated with 80 fewer jobs the next year; in Oakland, a gun homicide was associated with 10 fewer jobs the next year.

“Local and state governments must focus on reducing violent crime, not just as necessary to protect human life but also because doing so is a prerequisite to real economic opportunity in poor communities.”

Josh Crawford, GCO Director of Criminal Justice Initiatives

“Local and state governments must focus on reducing violent crime, not just as necessary to protect human life but also because doing so is a prerequisite to real economic opportunity in poor communities.”

Josh Crawford, GCO Director of Criminal Justice Initiatives

The impact of crime on neighborhoods

Communities stop becoming places that people want to call home.

Studies have also found that increases in gun violence hurt property values.

In Minneapolis: Each additional gun homicide resulted in a $22,000 decrease in average home values in Minneapolis census tracts.
In Oakland: Each additional gun homicide resulted in a $24,621 decrease in Oakland census tracts.
In Los Angeles: A separate study found that increases in violent crime in a neighborhood in a given year yielded decreases in property values in that neighborhood the following year.

And those who can leave communities with high rates of violence, do. One estimate found that, for every homicide, 70 residents move out of a neighborhood.

Finally, increased violent crime often, justifiably, leads to more incarceration. But communities with higher rates of incarcerated parent-aged men often have weaker social institutions and are more unstable.

To have vibrant communities and flourishing lives, public safety must take priority.

Improving economic conditions and opportunities for any community, but especially low-income neighborhoods, is incredibly difficult without first reducing violence.

One of the most recent examples is the great crime decline of the 1990s, which dramatically improved the most desperate neighborhoods and improved life among their residents.

It doesn’t have to be this way. Decades of policy innovation, evaluation, and replication have taught us how to make communities safer and break the interconnected cycles of poverty and crime.

The most effective methods include:

Focusing law enforcement efforts on criminal street gangs
Punishing violent recidivists appropriately
Reducing the presence of abandoned buildings in crime hot spots

People have a deep need to feel safe and secure in the places where they live, work, and go about their day-to-day lives. Providing a safe environment is government’s first responsibility to its people.

When it comes to public safety, making good policy choices changes lives—not only by reducing physical harm but also by transforming neighborhoods into places where the American Dream can still be found.

Visit our public safety resource page to learn more about policy solutions and see recommendations for specific cities.

How safety-net benefits discourage low-income workers from escaping poverty

by David Bass | Aug 8, 2024

The proven building blocks of child development can empower communities to get involved in helping parents raise highly capable kids.

How safety-net benefits discourage low-income workers from escaping poverty

Key Points

A new research paper from GCO shows the ways social safety-net programs like food stamps and Medicaid provide critical support but also discourage career advancement.
The “benefits cliff” is a significant barrier, where earning more can mean losing benefits, deterring workers from seeking higher-paying jobs.
Government benefits can blur the true income disparity between low-income and middle-income households.
Policy reforms are needed to remove these barriers and encourage upward mobility.

At a time when income inequality and lack of economic mobility are hot topics, a report from the Georgia Center for Opportunity (GCO) sheds light on how our social safety-net system could be contributing to these trends.

Entitled “Workforce Engagement: A Missing Link in Understanding Income Inequality,” the report explores how government support unintentionally discourages low-income workers from escaping poverty. The report also presents actionable policy solutions to avoid that trap.

What Are Safety-Net Benefits?

Safety-net systems include programs like food stamps, housing subsidies, and Medicaid, designed to provide financial assistance to those in need. While these programs are essential, they can inadvertently create barriers to long-term financial independence. This phenomenon is known as the “benefits cliff,” where individuals and families turn down career advancement opportunities to avoid losing government benefits.

The Source of Income Disparities

The GCO report reveals that government benefits often obscure the true income disparities between low-income and middle-income households.

When examining work-capable households, the unearned income from government benefits can paint a misleading picture of economic equality. Without these benefits, it’s clear that households in the lowest income quintile earn significantly less than their counterparts in higher income quintiles.

The report also highlights how these safety-net benefits can create disincentives for the lowest-paid workers to move up the economic ladder. For instance, after adjusting for taxes and transfer payments, the net income of households in the lowest quintile is almost equal to those in the second quintile, despite the latter earning nearly four times more.

This equalization is largely driven by government transfers, which provide significantly more support to the bottom quintile compared to the second quintile. This scenario leads to nearly identical average per capita net incomes between these groups.

The cover of the Worker Engagment report

Workforce Engagement

A Missing Link in Understanding Income Inequality

The compelling new report that examines the unintended consequences of our nation’s social safety-net system on low-wage workers.

Download the full report

Policy Recommendations

Understanding the dynamics of income inequality and the unintended consequences of social safety-net systems is crucial for fostering economic mobility and improving the quality of life for low-income workers.

To boost workforce engagement and reduce reliance on social safety nets, the report suggests several policy reforms:

Reducing Benefits Cliffs: Adjust thresholds for benefit eligibility to prevent sudden losses of support as income increases.
Work Incentives: Offer incentives for part-time workers to transition into full-time roles.
Education and Training: Provide better access to educational resources and vocational training programs.

GCO is dedicated to working within underserved communities to understand the realities of poverty and the public policies that perpetuate it. Our previous research, including on intergenerational poverty, underscores that America’s social safety net is designed to address situational poverty rather than systemic poverty.