Economics for Extemp. In the News... The Economics Debate. Criminal Justice Reform

Transcription

1 Economics for Extemp Gregory Rehmke Economic Thinking In the News... Criminal Justice Reform Way too many in U.S. prisons Way too many under court supervision. Over-criminalization: way too many regulations, from drugs to eagle feathers Professional and Business Licensing and Overregulation One in four jobs (was one in twenty) Think Uber: Established companies (taxis) lobby to keep our new firms. This symposium was a series of bipartisan discussions examining the role of free speech, freedom of religion, equality and other individual rights. This event helps launch a nationwide conversation called Freedom Day held every year and hosted by the National Constitution Center. The Economics Debate Presentation One: Dueling Narratives for Economic Malaise: Deregulation and Financialization or Overregulation and Declining Economic Freedom? Presentation Two: Economic Freedom Indexes and Constitutional Restraints: Innovation vs. The Dead Hand? Presentation Three: Arrival City & Economics of Immigration

2 refugee-economics-success-of-self.html Economic Freedom: choice, entrepreneurship, innovation, invention, enterprises... Free countries become prosperous. Economic Way of Thinking: incentives and information. Next: Episode One: Economic Freedom & Quality of Life (YouTube)

3 YouTube search: Episode One: Economic Freedom & Quality of Life by EconFree dead-hand-socialism-state-ownership-arab-world The governments of Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Syria, and Yemen all operate sizeable segments of their economies in some cases accounting for more than two-thirds of the GDP. International experience suggests that private ownership tends to outperform public ownership. Law & Public Choice Economics Whether because of racism or just protection of existing businesses, special interests organize to get regulations passed. Legislatures and executive agencies are usually captured by the industries they try to regulate. Court system can (and used to) intercede to protect citizens and firms from economic regulations lacking some public health or other justification.

4 Over the past several decades, the share of U.S. workers holding an occupational license has grown sharply. When designed and implemented carefully, licensing can offer important health and safety protections to consumers, as well as benefits to workers. However, the current licensing regime in the United States also creates substantial costs, and often the requirements for obtaining a license are not in sync with the skills needed for the job. There is evidence that licensing requirements raise the price of goods and services, restrict employment opportunities, and make it more difficult for workers to take their skills across State lines. Cost of Regulations The new estimate from NAM/ Crain and Crain turns out to be $2.028 trillion annually. They break costs up into four main categories (in billions of dollars): Economic: $1,448 billion Environmental: $330 billion Occupational Safety/Heath & Homeland Security: $92 b. Tax Compliance: $159 b. The Federal Court System Federal Courts: Criminal Justice cases Overcriminalization Way too many imprisoned. Often the wrong people Unjust and expensive. rightoncrime.com Reduce/reform pre-trial detention. Jury trials rather than plea-bargaining. End mandatory minimum sentences. Reform prisons. Too many economic and regulatory crimes. The Federal Court System Federal Courts: Criminal Justice cases

5 Federal Court System Reform Ideas Reform Grand Jury (no more indicting ham sandwiches). End mandatory minimum sentences (let judges decide) Reduce pretrial detention. (unfair, convictions higher). Jury trials--not just plea bargaining--for federal court system (95% of cases now settled without juries). Alternatives to federal court justice (retribution), supplement with restorative justice. Alt. to federal prisons. Reduce or end economic or regulatory crimes. Federal Court system should protect economic freedoms based on liberty of contract. Judicial engagement. End Civil Asset Forfeiture. Federal courts to hear cases. Reducing Pretrial Detention: A Conservative Case for Court Reform Marc Levin, director of the Center for Effective Justice at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, makes case on Townhall (June 25-26, 2015), for reducing prison before trial ("pretrial detention") More than 400,000 Americans in jails today must remain there until their case is resolved, which often takes months and occasionally years /06/reducing-pretrial-detention.html The Criminalization of Everyday Life Video is a debate, with policeman speaking after law professor. Video is not critical of police behavior, but of prosecutors and over-criminalization overcriminalization/

6 Legal Memorandum #157 on Legal Issues July 9, 2015 Regulatory Crimes and the Mistake of Law Defense No one should be convicted of a crime if no reasonable person would have know [the act as illegal] the adoption of a mistake of law defense, and criminal law scholars have long argued strict liability crimes lead to conviction of persons who are, morally speaking, innocent. The Federal Court System Should Have Jury Trials Amendment VI In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed... However, less than 5% of today s accused have reasonable opportunities for jury trials. Instead, prosecutors offer plea bargains where accused agrees to plead guity to lesser crime. In some cases, saves time and money, but gives prosecutors power to pressure guilty pleas. astoundingideasfederalcourts.blogspot.com/2015/06/jurytrials-radical-reform-forfederal.html