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Niskanen Center

18 May, 9 tweets, 3 min read

THREAD: Expanding the police force can actually help fix racial disparities in public safety (deterring and protecting against major crimes).

It’s the overzealous policing of MINOR crimes that tends to harm communities of color. 1/ niskanencenter.org/when-cities-ad…

@ProfFortner

The Defund movement tends to focus on the SIZE of the police force, but the end goal is better policing that improves public safety for everyone, as @ProfFortner has demonstrated. The type of policing matters. 2/

https://twitter.com/NiskanenCenter/status/1311669400341274624

New research shows that expanding police personnel leads to reductions in serious crime. “Every 10-17 officers hired abate one new homicide per year. In per capita terms the effects are approximately twice as large for Black victims.” 3/ achalfin.weebly.com/uploads/8/5/4/…

What about arrest patterns for Black versus white individuals? A larger police force seems to discourage serious crimes like robberies, aggravated assaults, etc.

The decline in these crime arrests is 4-6X larger for Black civilians than whites. 4/

Most arrests that police make are for minor, victimless “quality-of-life” crimes, like drug or alcohol possession. This is where the injustice exists. 5/

Police tend to have a lot of discretion for lower-level crimes. For liquor law violations and drug possession (where the police have tremendous discretion), research shows that arrests are 3X larger among Black civilians. 6/

So the real question may not be “Are we hiring the right number of police?” but “can we invest in the most productive elements of policing without exposing people to the harmful, unjust effects of the criminal justice system?” 7/

Simply reducing the police force, without following where the evidence leads, could cause us to ask the wrong questions and further harm the communities which are already bearing the brunt of today's broken justice system. 8/8

@ajc730

This paper by @ajc730, @benconomics, @emilyweisburst, and @morgancwilliam5 does a deep dive into where policing helps, and where it contributes to the injustice that's devastating our entire country. Give it a read: achalfin.weebly.com/uploads/8/5/4/…

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28 May

@amyklobuchar

We applaud Sens. @amyklobuchar / @SenatorCollins for re-introducing bipartisan legislation to address physician shortages in the U.S.

The bill would allow international doctors trained in the U.S. to remain here if they practiced in underserved areas.
klobuchar.senate.gov/public/index.c…

@SpeakSamuel

As @SpeakSamuel wrote in 2018 the U.S. "is facing a growing doctor shortage—which could reach 121,300 by the year 2030." (That was before the pandemic stretched our HC system and professionals to a near-breaking point!).

niskanencenter.org/foreign-doctor…

@FAHhospitals

The following orgs have endorsed the bipartisan Conrad State 30 and Physician Access Reauthorization Act: @FAHhospitals, @AmerMedicalAssn, Niskanen Center, @ahahospitals, @ruralhealth, @AAMCtoday, and @SocietyHospMed.

Read 4 tweets

Niskanen Center

@NiskanenCenter

26 May

@jenniferdoleac

THREAD: @jenniferdoleac and @annalilharvey share the results of the latest @CJExpertPanel poll:

niskanencenter.org/policing-and-p…

Statement 1: Increasing police budgets will improve public safety.

Respondents generally agreed, but noted that what the budget was used, and the type policing mattered.

Statement 2: Increasing social service budgets (e.g. housing, health, education) will improve public safety.

Respondents again seemed to agree but indicated that some programs and services were much more effective than others.

Read 4 tweets

Niskanen Center

@NiskanenCenter

16 Mar

@Alon_Levy

NEW PAPER via @Alon_Levy: Why is American infrastructure so expensive?

We have urgent infrastructure needs. Meeting those needs would create jobs.

But not until we stop making critical mistakes. So let’s look at what other countries are doing right. 1/
niskanencenter.org/report-so-you-…

Infrastructure creates more long-term productive potential for the economy and society. It improves productivity and living standards. But most countries spend a fraction of what the U.S. does, with better results. 2/

First, U.S. infrastructure is too slow. In 2009, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act sought to tackle infrastructure projects but was plagued by extremely slow lead times and massive delays. This is mostly thanks to U.S. red tape. 3/

Read 10 tweets

Niskanen Center

@NiskanenCenter

19 Nov 20

THREAD: In the absence of Congressional action on immigration reform, administrations have taken charge. The result? Unpredictable policies that disrupt businesses and families.

It’s time for Congress to step in. Here are 15 reforms to prioritize. niskanencenter.org/redefining-imm…

This is not a comprehensive plan for immigration reform; it’s a shortlist of the ideas that will most obviously benefit Americans.

Nativist sentiment permeates American politics right now. It's important to demonstrate how immigration reform can serve the national interest.

We’ve carefully selected a range of academics, scholars, entrepreneurs, lawmakers, lawyers, advocates, and immigrant contributors from a broad range of ideological spectrums to weigh in.

Without further ado, here are the reforms they believe could best serve our citizens.

Read 27 tweets

Niskanen Center

@NiskanenCenter

5 Oct 20

MASSIVE NEW PAPER: Last year, we released our policy vision that rejected the false dichotomy of “pro-market” and “pro-government."

We've transformed this into a concrete agenda, our blueprint for the "free-market welfare state" THREAD 1/
niskanencenter.org/faster_fairer/…

The focus of our efforts is not to provide a complete program to save America. In this agenda, we’re addressing the problem of restoring inclusive prosperity — revitalizing lagging economic dynamism while ensuring that the rewards of such dynamism are broadly shared. 2/

Even before #COVID19, America’s 21st-century malaise of dimming economic vitality and deepening social divisions demonstrated that something has gone wrong. Very wrong. Let’s do a little review. niskanencenter.org/what-the-pande…

Read 36 tweets

Niskanen Center

@NiskanenCenter

1 Oct 20

NEW PAPER and THREAD: “Defunding the police” does not enjoy broad public support in Black communities.

Most voters prefer reform (community groups, a larger social safety net, and limits on police violence) over abolishment. 1/ niskanencenter.org/reconstructing…

First, some history. It’s been common to portray African Americans as passive victims of policies. This downplays the intentionality and purpose behind Black leaders’ long struggle for public safety in their communities in the ‘80s and ‘90s. 2/

Here’s a chart of the crime wave, which rose in the ‘60s and ‘70s, stalled in the ‘80s, and peaked again in 1991 before declining. The black community was hit hard, and calls for more policing and more punitive justice were bipartisan and crossed racial lines. 3/

Read 25 tweets

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