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Why don't we hang white-collar criminals?
Feb. 6th, 2009 12:38 pmI did a bit of back-of-the envelope calculation.
I believe that if you take the value of every single thing stolen by every burglar, mugger, and robber in the United States today -- it's less than half of what Bernie Madoff stole.
In the United States, about $550 million dollars worth of stuff is stolen by "blue-collar" criminals every year. Armed robbers, muggers, smash-and-grabbers, burglars, pickpockets, and so forth.
So. Figure that there are criminals alive today who were stealing stuff forty years ago. 40 years at $550 million per year is $22 billion.
Bernie Madoff not only stole more than any violent criminal -- he stole more than all violent criminals in the United States. Put together.
(n the other hand, things in the category of "theft of office supplies" comes to about $600 billion. I think that category includes things like using the company truck to take your kids to their soccer games and watching porn on the corporate net connection, not just walking off with pens.)
I believe that if you take the value of every single thing stolen by every burglar, mugger, and robber in the United States today -- it's less than half of what Bernie Madoff stole.
In the United States, about $550 million dollars worth of stuff is stolen by "blue-collar" criminals every year. Armed robbers, muggers, smash-and-grabbers, burglars, pickpockets, and so forth.
So. Figure that there are criminals alive today who were stealing stuff forty years ago. 40 years at $550 million per year is $22 billion.
Bernie Madoff not only stole more than any violent criminal -- he stole more than all violent criminals in the United States. Put together.
(n the other hand, things in the category of "theft of office supplies" comes to about $600 billion. I think that category includes things like using the company truck to take your kids to their soccer games and watching porn on the corporate net connection, not just walking off with pens.)