Quote:
Originally Posted by Ixtellor
So you consider, an almost out right ban on handguns to be Conservative?
Spending money to solve problems = conservative? (He increased police budgets)
He used the POWER of government and the revoking of easy access to hand guns to reduce crime.
|
Actually he used the power of arrest to reduce crime. He closed down known criminal hangouts (like porn shops) and began issuing citations and arrests for minor crimes including drug dealing and public urination. That is how he reduced crime. Anti-gun laws were in place before he was elected. He used those laws as a way to prosecute known criminals. And conservatives favor increased spending for law enforcement, which is why they support three strikes, mandatory sentencing and other laws that cost money.
Quote:
|
P.S. Actually I believe that because he was mayor during a BOOM cycle, it played a large roll in the crime rate. Poverty begets crime. So I think a portion of the crime reduction was due to circumstance outside his control, in addition to 1) using gov to solve problems and 2) restricting guns were helpful.
|
I believe it played somewhere between little to absolutely no role whatsoever. He was mayor during a boom for the entire country. NYC's crime rate reduced astronomically in comparison to the rest of the country. They went from consistently top 5 to in the 80's based on per capita crime in a matter of a handful of years. Crime dropped by 2/3 and murders went from 2,000 under Dinkins to 650-700 under Rudy.
It's also worth noting, Rudy fought liberals in successfully reforming NYC's welfare laws. he started with removing those who were collecting, but not eligible. Then he instituted a work requirement. The NY Times of course was against this and I recall someone using the term slavery. The number of those on welfare dropped by well over half a million. He also fought liberals in enacting anti-pan handling laws in ridding the city of its infamous squeege brigade (particularly in the Bowery District). Liberals said they would turn to more serious crimes to make money. This of course did not happen. He also ended affirmative action at city universities. Which resulted in higher SAT scores for incoming students and a larger student population. When he took office Dinkins & Co recommended tax and other increases to pay for a multi-billion dollar deficit. Giuliani's first budget contained several spending cuts totaling 1.5% in city expenditures (he just sent more to crime fighting) and a small business tax reduction. The first mayor ever to cut taxes in NYC. While in office he eliminated or reduced dozens of taxes. One that comes to mind is the clothing tax. In summary, NYC's economy grew faster than the rest of the US' for the first time ever post WWII.