The Audacity of Hope, by Barack Obama: on Drugs

Barack Obama: Deal with street-level drug dealing as minimum-wage affair

We need to tackle the nexus of unemployment and crime in the inner city. The conventional wisdom is that most unemployed inner-city men could find jobs if they really wanted to work; that they inevitably prefer drug dealing, with its attendant risks but potential profits, to the low-paying jobs that their lack of skill warrants. In fact, economists who’ve studied the issue--and the young men whose fates are at stake--will tell you that the costs and benefits of the street life don’t match the popular mythology: At the bottom or even the middle ranks of the industry, drug dealing is a minimum-wage affair. For many inner-city men, what prevents gainful employment is not simply the absence of motivation to get off the streets but the absence of a job history or any marketable skills--and, increasingly, the stigma of a prison record.

We can assume that with lawful work available for young men now in the drug trade, crime in any community would drop.

Source: The Audacity of Hope, by Barack Obama, p.257-259 Oct 1, 2006

The above quotations are from The Audacity of Hope Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream, by Barack Obama. Click here for definitions & background information on Drugs. Click here for other issues (main summary page). Click here for more quotes by Barack Obama on Drugs.
*2012 Presidential contenders on Drugs:*
	*Democrats:* Pres.Barack Obama(IL) V.P.Joe Biden(DE) *Republicans:* Gov.Mitt Romney(MA) Rep.Paul Ryan(WI)	*Third Parties:* Green: Dr.Jill Stein(MA) Libertarian: Gov.Gary Johnson(NM) Justice: Mayor Rocky Anderson(UT) Constitution: Rep.Virgil Goode(VA) Peace+Freedom: Roseanne Barr(HI) Reform Party: André Barnett(NY) AmericansElect: Gov.Buddy Roemer(LA)
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Page last updated: Mar 08, 2013