Why New York’s Mob Mythology Endures

Re:Why New York’s Mob Mythology Endures by bsder on Tuesday December 15, 2020 @04:33PM (#25435529)

> "If some nativist in this country had warned in 1900 that mass Italian immigration would bring us vendetta-obsessed crime clans, capable of getting their tentacles on the public life (and budgets) of major American cities while also corrupting the American labor movement for most of the coming century, he would have been dismissed, correctly, as a bigot."

Prohibition did this. The mafia simply were both organized and ruthless enough to exploit it at the time.

Without prohibition, you don't get enough money flowing through the system to start the problem.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Why New York’s Mob Mythology Endures by AtlasBarfed on Friday December 18, 2020 @10:37AM (#25468044)

And prohibition is doing the same thing for the Mexican drug gangs.

I used to oppose decriminalization and legalization because the most abused drugs are the legal ones, but the inability to deal with our addiction problems is destabilizing Mexico and Central America to the point of virtual civil war, and killing people like only war can.

Decriminalization and legalization will stop the flow of money, and flow the money back into legal businesses and taxes, remove the need for mafia-esque and corrupting drug enforcement regimes in the police, save money, fund rehabilitation, make the supply safe for users, help in tracking use/abuse, etc.

For those on the far right spectrum, illegal immigration is likely driven to a great deal by the destabilization of the drug war, especially in central america. It is closer to libertarian ideals, and shrinks government funding and government authority. It will reduce crime. It will reduce prison populations and the associated government funding of those prisons. It will keep many more people out of the criminal system and keep them in the economy.

[ Parent | on HN ]