Does perception of Govt affect crime rates?

[emilynghiem]

http://www.change.org/petitions/tow...of-any-resort-casino-in-the-tuxedo-area#share

On the above petition, I signed with this statement:

Consent of the people is the basis of civil law and governance. Please redesign the plans to accommodate the interests of all people represented. Putting commercial interests above others is the same attitude that justifies theft in the minds of criminals. Please do not promote or endorse this same mindset, and then wonder why criminals have no respect for law. If local govt have the same attitude, it teaches disrespect for lawabiding citizens for money.

Am I making this up? Is there a connection or am I assuming there is?

Has there been any real study done to show any correlation in statistics
between perceptions of govt as corrupt and/or putting "commercial interests" of developers ABOVE the consent of residents, and other interests and value the community has that aren't counted in terms of dollars and sense.

I had been arguing this for years with historic property and community integrity
destroyed by putting more value and priority on developer interests, and not counting the cost it would take to replace the history or community relations lost (which is priceless).
Because the community value goes "off the scale" and cannot be measured, it is counted as 0, while the real estate and commercial value that can be documented is counted in the millions.

Isn't this the same mindset as criminals who only consider what THEY can get from someone, and don't count the person at all in the equation?

Are there any studies or research to show a correlation?
I just happen to believe this very strongly, that if the govt follows laws and treats all citizens and our consent with equal respect, regardless of monetary or political value,
then this sets a higher standard so that it gives AUTHORITY to police against crime.
But if not even GOVT is respecting the value of citizens' interests and consent,
then how the heck do we expect to enforce respect for law to deter crime by others?

Any comments?

Do you believe in this same correlation? Is it enough to argue that we need to account for citizens' interests and consent in making development decisions that impact communities?

Or do we need formal studies in urban sociology and crime rate stats to show a documented correlation?

Is it ENOUGH to make a moral argument just because I or we believe this
sets a better example? I have this same problem in Houston, and want to
solve it globally, instead of all fighting separate battles and losing historic
sites and environmental landmarks to corporate and political interests not weighed equally.

Thank you,
Emily Nghiem

 

[KNB]

This can't be said enough times: those who control the means of production will always reap the most of the economic benefits. If the People control the means of production then the People will reap more of the economic benefits. Not everyone can drill for oil in their backyards, but everyone can grow Cannabis hemp for a tax credit. Mass production of industrial hemp will replace monopolized fossil fuels for energy, transferring a great deal of the fossil fuel industry's profits back to the People. This is why Cannabis was outlawed in the first place.

https://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL32725.pdf