From: stephen@sprunk.org   
      
   On 11-May-14 17:50, hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com wrote:   
   > On Saturday, May 10, 2014 11:06:19 AM UTC-4, Stephen Sprunk wrote:   
   >> What, you don't think any of the above cities have poor parts of   
   >> town with frequent vandalism, violent crime, etc.? Hint: they do.   
   >> So, where there are such security problems, you apply more   
   >> security. But that has little to do with fare collection per se.   
   >   
   > Actually, it does.  Usually, communities with a better social fabric   
   > have less vandalism, security issues, and fare evasion than troubled   
   > communities.   
      
   Yes, affluent communities are nicer places to live than poor   
   communities; that's why the affluent people pay more to live in the   
   former, which creates a virtuous cycle there--and a vicious cycle on the   
   other side.   
      
   > I can't help but suspect that a homeless person or beggar on DART   
   > will not be treated as kindly by the carrier, cops, or courts, as say   
   > one in Philadelphia.  I can't help but suspect that the courts in   
   > Dallas take a different stance on the rights of "free speech" than   
   > they do in the northeast US.  That all plays a difference on the   
   > platform of a transit line.   
      
   The cops here don't care about "free speech" either way; all they care   
   about is whether you're committing a crime, and speech (except in rare   
   cases) is not itself a crime.  OTOH, if you're committing criminal   
   trespass in order to make said speech, they _will_ arrest you for   
   that--just as they would if you weren't speaking; your motivation or   
   subsequent behavior is immaterial to that crime.   
      
   For cops to behave any differently is a bizarre concept to me, and   
   perhaps that is part of your "oppressive dictatorship" problem.   
      
   >> Perhaps not consciously, but they [criminals] do make a risk/reward   
   >> decision on some level, and being poor just means that they assign   
   >> a different value to each factor than you or I would. So, you tilt   
   >> the factors to compensate: increase the risk and reduce the award   
   >> as _they_ see it.   
   >   
   > Actually, no they don't think.   
      
   Perhaps not consciously, but we make risk/reward decisions all the time;   
   it's not some magical power acquired by virtue of being affluent but   
   rather one that poor people are born with as well.  It's hardwired into   
   us as a direct result of evolutionary pressures.   
      
   > Petty criminals are not very bright, nor think very much.   
      
   Wrong.  They just assign different values to the risk and/or reward of   
   their crimes than you do; many of them are probably brighter and more   
   thoughtful than corporate drones, just without the benefit of money   
   making their crimes more socially acceptable.   
      
   > For instance, real estate agents   
      
   ITYM "landlords"   
      
   > in poor neighborhoods   
      
   Okay, ITYM "slumlords"   
      
   > have to collect the rent weekly in person in cash--if they wait until   
   > the end of the month, the tenants won't have the money.   
      
   Being poor means not having enough income to pay for basic necessities   
   of life; they're always short on paying _some_ bill.  Rent is usually   
   the biggest bill they have--and the least immediate due to the lengthy   
   legal process to evict them, so that's not surprising.   
      
   Here, though, you can't rent by the week; if you don't pay the full   
   amount on the due date, the landlord files for eviction the next day,   
   and then no other landlord will rent them an apartment either.  They end   
   up living in "extended stay" motels, which aren't subject to the   
   eviction process: if you don't pay to extend your stay by noon on the   
   checkout date, they call the cops for criminal trespass.   
      
   Perhaps your slumlords haven't figured out that loophole yet.   
      
   S   
      
   --   
   Stephen Sprunk         "God does not play dice."  --Albert Einstein   
   CCIE #3723         "God is an inveterate gambler, and He throws the   
   K5SSS        dice at every possible opportunity." --Stephen Hawking   
      
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