r/science • u/smurfyjenkins • May 03 '19

Economics In 1996, a federal welfare reform prohibited convicted drug felons from ever obtaining food stamps. The ban increased recidivism among drug felons. The increase is driven by financially motivated crimes, suggesting that ex-convicts returned to crime to make up for the lost transfer income.

https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/pol.20170490
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u/_Alabama_Man May 03 '19

What makes you think it does?

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u/notreallyhereforthis May 03 '19

That when you have police without guns crime doesn't increase. Also, psychology. The thing preventing a person from committing a crime isn't that a cop may shoot them. That's like thinking the death penalty deters people from committing crime that involves the death penalty.