Predictable effects

Linda McQuaig draws a link between the Harris tax cuts and the recent increase in gang crime in Toronto:

Ten years ago, Mike Harris slashed Ontario's welfare rates by 22 per cent, thereby cutting by almost one-quarter the incomes of Ontario's most vulnerable families.

The young kids in those vulnerable families are now teenagers. Recently, there's been an upsurge in violent crime by gangs of teenagers. Is it far-fetched to think there might be a connection?...

The Harris government also cut spending on an array of programs aimed at ensuring disadvantaged kids integrate into the mainstream. It cut funds for teaching English to immigrants, for social workers in the schools, for community recreation.

And when some kids behaved badly, it banned them from school with a “zero tolerance” policy. Where did we think they would go?...

(I)f we really want to make this a liveable society, not just enjoy the satisfaction of locking up bad people, we should intervene much earlier.

We still don't seem to grasp the connection between slashing social supports and social breakdown, including violent crime.

It may take a few more years to see how close any link really is. But nobody ultimately stands to benefit if we spend the meantime ignoring the obvious intuitive connection between a lack of integration into mainstream society and consequent integration into antisocial groups. And in order to actually deal with the issues which readily lead to criminal activity, voters will need to look past the claims of "tough on crime" from the same ideological group which has helped to cause the crime in the first place.