The year 1957

[steve-in-kville]

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[temporal1]

The Cultural Roots of Crime
A conversation about the rise and fall of violence in America with criminal-justice scholar Barry Latzer.
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/ar ... me/487583/

.. .. During World War II, crime continued to drop, partly because the war removed hundreds of thousands of young men from the streets to the barracks. When the war ended there was a brief spike in violent crime, but the downturn continued after the war and well into the postwar boom of the 1950s. No one is sure why crime remained low in the 1950s, but several factors helped. Crime rates for African Americans, though higher than average, were historically low for that community. Drug and alcohol use also were down.

The Depression had produced a birth dearth, so the young male population was reduced.
And the supercharged economy created a massive and growing middle class in a short period of time;
and middle-class people seldom commit crimes of violence.

All in all, the 1950s was a golden age of low crime. .. ..

J-O-B-S. Intact families. Church attendance.
The combination of the sense of purpose, moral teachings, combined with a hopeful ratio of income wrt financial stability.

COL was far less than inflated today, so were incomes.
Once women left their homes for hourly pay, this quickly inflated COL to the degree it became (considered) “a must” rather than “helping the household.”

College degrees were not required for everyone, there were no student loans (or unsecured credit cards). Everyone was expected to work.

Bankers were sober gatekeepers of financial accountability. Almost impossible to get a loan without 1) established employment record, 2) established credit history. Not easy! .. Wive’s income would not count on a mortgage application; banks presumed, if they became “in the family way,” they would return home.

Lots of cultural changes go hand in hand with inflation of COL.

Decades ago, i heard a warning about the coming crisis of so many young men growing up without fathers in the home.
The speculation was that crime/violent crime would run rampant. Boys need their fathers for direction, socialization, boundaries.

More money doesn’t fix things, does it.

[steve-in-kville]

More money doesn’t fix things, does it.

Any problem that can be solved with money is no longer a problem, but an expense.