Sacramento OK’s plan to pay gang members $1.5 million for “peace”
In other, normal states, the concept would be called “extortion”.
There are days that I feel that I am living in the Twilight Zone.
Then, I remember I live in California, the place where the state capital OK’s a plan to give $1.5 million to gang members so they won’t kill.
Following a fatal shooting last weekend in a city park, the Sacramento city council unanimously approved a controversial program called Advance Peace in an effort to address a recent spike in violence.
The program offers gang members cash stipends for graduating from school and generally staying out of trouble.
Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg requested that the vote be moved up in response to the park shooting, which left one person dead and four injured, Fox 40 reported. The vote was supposed to take place in two weeks.
Proponents assert that the plan is will work, based on models from other cities.
“If we don’t try something different, we’re gonna continue to see these patterns,” said Mayor Darrell Steinberg.
The Advanced Peace program is aimed at combating gun violence in Sacramento by targeting the roughly 50 young men who are believed to be responsible for most of the gun violence in the city. The program is one modeled after a similar, successful one in Richmond that provides participants with high-level mentorship, daily check-ins, case management, and life-goal plans. Per studies presented to the council, from 2010 to 2016 Richmond saw a 50 percent reduction in firearm assaults and 54 percent reduction in related homicides.
The funding for the gang members will be from the city’s general fund and will go to 50 men who are suspected of killing people (but lacking not enough evidence to prosecute them). The skeptics of this plan question the basis on which it was approved.
Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert had this assessment:
“I support the gang prevention task force and the many evidence-based youth mentoring and intervention programs already in existence in the city of Sacramento. I have serious concerns with a program that is apparently based upon the payment of money to high-risk individuals in exchange for a promise not to engage in violent criminal conduct. There is insufficient evidence-based data to show this approach is effective in preventing gun violence.”
Schubert isn’t the only one perplexed by the vote:
The program is called “Advance Peace” also known as “Extortion” https://t.co/9gNFSheWni
— Nick Short ???????? (@PoliticalShort) September 3, 2017
So, do I get paid for following rules, laws, and regulations? Do I get back pay too?https://t.co/FqJuRrCSBH
— Cynthia (@Cyn0510) September 4, 2017
Protection money …. my god.
Sacramento City Council Approves ‘Advance Peace’ Program https://t.co/1cWJTL5BSz via @FOX40— David Curtis (@HondaTadakatsu) September 4, 2017
Way to go #Sacramento! Pay criminals to not commit crime instead of enforcing your laws. ????????????https://t.co/eMGyxn4hTn via @youtube
— Rayanne Tamayo (@RayanneTamayo) September 4, 2017
.@Mayor_Steinberg Other than committing murder, any other ways I can qualify for these cash payments of yours? ???? https://t.co/57O85r2vWF
— Aaron Klein (@AaronKlein) September 4, 2017
Indeed! In other, normal states, Sacramento’s plan would be called “extortion”. But in the Golden State, our political leaders hail it as a sensible peace proposal.
That’s the signpost up ahead – your next stop, the Twilight Zone California!
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Comments
How about this as an incentive to not commit murder: if you murder someone you will be arrested and put to death. Works for me.
And we wonder why our elected leaders never have e enough tax money left for law abiding citizens, NY tax increases are always on the ballot.
Doesn’t anyone in Sacramento have a rudimentary understanding of the principles of reward and punishment? Another boondoggle.
The council members are in a bind: on the one hand, they must support all progressive policies and ideology. On the other hand, they know those policies don’t work.
And we wonder why our elected leaders never have e enough tax money left for law abiding citizens, and tax increases are always on the ballot.
Doesn’t anyone in Sacramento have a rudimentary understanding of the principles of reward and punishment? Another boondoggle.
A rubber bullet to the groin of every gang member would be far cheaper and much more humorous, but I’m silly that way.
From a purely political standpoint: Who can blame them for not wanting to incarcerate their base.
Ok, somebody has to quote it:
It is always a temptation for a rich and lazy nation,
To puff and look important and to say: —
“Though we know we should defeat you, we have not the time to meet you.
We will therefore pay you cash to go away.”
And that is called paying the Dane-geld;
But we’ve proved it again and again,
That if once you have paid him the Dane-geld
You never get rid of the Dane.
–Rudyard Kipling
$30k for each member…buys a lot of crack.
Let’s assume that all of the gangs in the Sacramento area are properly set up as 501(c)(7) tax-exempt associations with the Internal Revenue Service. I’m not sure how the gangs would report this income on their Form 990 – it’s not coming from their membership dues as is usually the case with a 501(c)(7), but it’s not a charitable contribution either. They may wind up having to report this as taxable business income, similar to the way they report all their sales of illegal narcotics.
But these are individual cash disbursements to the members which do not go through the 501(c)(7), so naturally a system of withholding needs to be set up on each check, since they are not paid to tax-free entities. Of course, the individuals may choose to donate a portion of their checks to the managing association to avoid major medical expenses, but under tax law, I believe the withholding has to be taken out before disbursement and the individual then has to claim the tax-free donation on their 1040 in order to get a refund.
Of course, if the individual is not carrying health insurance, the Obamacare bite comes out before the refund check is cut…
a thought- these ‘peace activists’ will not qualify for SNAP etc.
There is no hope for California. Either the counties that are part of America have to secede from the state, or any Americans left in California have to leave.
When the government actively pays and subsidizes criminals preying on the citizens, it is a warlord state and must be destroyed or escaped.
if the denizens of Sacramento like this then they can do it.
if they don’t then vote them out of office.
Gov Moonbeam is SOOOOO proud.
Is this a ‘sanctuary city’ ?
what form of fed cash do they get ??
Is Sessions ok with this ??
BTW – Sessions needs to go.
Appeasement. Neville Chamberlain style.
Another example as the government being the wealthy non-judgmental extended member of the family filling in for the parents/mentors that were not there. The real question is what happens later on when they have to leave the program and fend for themselves… or is that not the plan? Something may “work” at the start but not pan out.. as in Obama Care or “Midnight Basketball”.
Of course it’s a stupid idea. No elected official is that stupid. So, look to see which California lawmaker is going to profit from the millions paid to the extortionists.
When you think about it, it’s the corrupt ca lawmakers who are the extortionists.
It’s not exactly extortion because the city council members aren’t being threatened by gangs. We all know they live in gated communities, or such.
This is more like a conspiracy to commit fraud.
What are the underlying assumptions?
1) Gang members are no smarter than dogs, maybe less smart.
2) If the lawmaker’s intention is good, results, either short-term or long-term, do not matter.
3) If the “goal” is vague, then nobody can hold these morons accountable for the lack of results.
4) When this plan fails (not if), the cause will be that the plan was underfunded.
5) The backup cause of the failure will be climate change.
UFB.
Too bad LA County doesn’t have someone like Sheriff Joe Arpaio around to enforce the law.
Sorry, Sacramento County. There’s a lot of counties though that could use a good old fashioned law enforcement officer.
Damn, and all this time I have been not murdering anyone in Sacramento county for free!
I could use some money.
guess I’ll go there and start shooting…….
(snark fyi)
The Twilight Zone a.k.a. penumbra. It’s all very quasi-legal.
How do they decide how much each gang member gets? Is it on a $/per murder basis?
Obviously, they pay you for each murder you do not commit. If they will pay transients, I will go there and not commit 100 or maybe 1000 murders. I am capable of not committing an unlimited number of murders. How do I collect my payment for not doing something repeatedly?
Before they pay for murders not committed, they need a baseline of past experience to determine how many murders the banger won’t commit in the future.
A banger who has killed a dozen people in the past, but gets paid not to kill a dozen in the future; should get more than one who has killed five, but gets paid not to kill five in the future.
I saved $20 today because there was a sign in the subway “No spitting, $10 fine”, and I didn’t spit twice.
If they want to reduce crime also, that’s easy. Just repeal all/most of the laws e.g. murder, assault, robbery, rape, etc. The crime statistics will plummet overnight. You won’t have to pay tribute the gangs, since they will be no longer breaking laws. What a great idea! (I really need a sarcasm font!)
It’s not extortion because the criminals are making neither demands nor threats. The word is appeasement.
I’m going to go start a gang just to get free stuff.
What about locking up criminals and letting the rest of citizens be peaceful for free?
The trouble is they can’t lock these people up. They would if they could, but the constitution doesn’t let us lock people up just because we think they’re dangerous. We have to prove it beyond reasonable doubt, to a jury of neutral fact-finders. There is no way to do that for these people, so what do you suggest? Paying them is obviously stupid, but what else?
Murder isn’t provable beyond a reasonable doubt now?
Enforce the law and the murderers become disincentivized to murder. Offer them free stuff and they take it and murder anyways. Appeasement, as you put it, worked out great for Europe leading up to WWII.
Murder isn’t provable beyond a reasonable doubt now?
Didn’t you read the article? If their murders could be proven beyond reasonable doubt they’d be in prison, and there’d be no need to pay them not to kill again. But they can’t be. There is no evidence to do it with. These people are believed to be responsible for most of the gun violence in the city, but we rightly don’t let our authorities lock someone up just because they believe something. So what is the answer?
Since they have no moral compass, it boils down to “pain” or “pleasure” to sway them away from capping the next dude they get dissed by. It is easier.. legally… to go with the pleasure option since nothing has to be proven beyond a doubt. Of course, we can consider these formal business contracts and write in harsh penalties for breach of contract… but what would that be… not much. So… free money… just to quiet the beast.
In a cold calculating world… a poison… that as long as the person behaves the daily antidote is given… as in Dune. But that is science fiction….
I think you’re overselling the pleasure aspect. They’d actually have to work to graduate. Additionally, they have to get that money and behave with it. Lacking a moral compass, as you say, doesn’t usually effect good behavior just for some modest reward. Otherwise, they’d all be on welfare instead of being criminals.
This week, California votes to pay Danegeld.
Next week, move the State capitol to Solvang!
Vaguely mirrors some of previous Smart Power/Diplomacy that “rewards” rogue nations/leaders with our usual, generous American largesse in the hopes that the voracious alligator will have had its fill before eventually eating us last.
Paying off the warlords. Didn’t work in Afghanistan, won’t work here.
I left CA 37 years ago. Since then I have acquired a somewhat shady and murderous reputation. Does anyone know the address of the City Council chairperson? I wish to apply for my share of the payoff, promising I will not return to California to commit murder.