Article Summary: Youth Felonies And Poverty
Queens College
Youth Felonies and Poverty
Raymond Guerrero
Urban Studies 101-016
Professor Robinson
12-21-13
One of our country’s if not the world’s greatest problem is that of poverty. Nearly 49 million Americans are struggling to put food on the table. With so many resources available to us the question many people tend to have is why is poverty still among us? Honestly I believe poverty for most can be a never ending cycle, a burden passed from generation to generation. While some may find ways to escape its grasp, most tend to remain restrained within its grip. One of the many factors that contribute to poverty is that of youth felonies. While trying to sometimes provide for loved ones while in poverty, …show more content…
children often make mistakes and approach the task of becoming a provider in the wrong way and end up in trouble with the law. This trouble ends up causing a world of pain for the negative consequences that are brought upon one because of it. Youth felonies tend to hinder future employment and affect the wages one earns. Youth felonies also affect future aspirations for obtaining a higher education. Youth felons are often times denied government assistance which many low income families depend on; however, the most devastating thing of all is most youth felons tend to become second and third time offenders, furthering their voyage from poverty.
Youth felonies often times tend to have a direct negative correlation on job placement.
Whether it leads to being underpaid for services rendered or simply the inability to obtain/secure a job in the first place, more often than not felonies tend to create this barrier. According to Grogger’s article “The Effects of Arrests on the Employment and Earnings of Young Men”, “Tabulations from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY) show that arrests and subsequent labor market outcomes are strongly negatively correlated. Among men who had been arrested prior to 1980, annual earnings averaged $7047 (in 1980) between 1980 and 1984. For men without prior arrest records, annual earnings were 15 percent higher, averaging $8083” (Grogger, p51). Therefore, showing men who commit crimes in their youth, end up paying heavily for it. While some youth felons are able to obtain jobs, these jobs are often general labor jobs that turn out to be dead end jobs. These jobs tend to consist of janitorial duties, construction, or within the fast food industry. While they are still jobs they tend to have little to no opportunity for …show more content…
growth.
Now, while with employment these are merely jobs, not careers and are rarely ever enough to make ends meet, thus the need for government assistance arises. This is where we encounter our next barrier. The government denies assistance to those who were convicted of drug felonies, and the majority of youth felonies are exactly that: drug felonies. Now while this article focuses on women who were convicted of drug felonies the principle still applies, “Although these forms of punishment are “civil” rather than criminal in nature, they are just as punitive because they increase the likelihood of family dissolution since they deny women welfare benefits, food stamps, higher education, employment, and housing, impeding their ability to successfully transition from prison into their communities. As a result, the social safety net for poor people in this country has been deteriorating” (Reynolds, p246). This concept applies just as evenly to men as it does to women. Felonies unwind the never ending chain of poverty, creating the inability to seek refuge within the comfort of the government, being banned from every sort of government assistance from welfare – food stamps. Welfare can provide affordable housing and cash assistance for those who need it in order to make ends meet. Food stamps provide extra money for families who don’t make enough in order to eat properly. By being denied these governmental opportunities it just makes it that much harder to overcome poverty. So what is left, but to find yet another job. This tends to prove difficult more often than not. With jobs already as scarce as can be for felons, the opportunities to make ends meet dwindle and force those who aren’t strong enough to remain within the cycle of poverty.
Now without enough money to make ends meet and without the assistance of government programs such as welfare and food stamps, the obvious solution to most would be to seek continuing education and attempt to go after a college or university opportunity; in order to obtain that degree, and secure a safer and rewarding career increasing their social stature and unbinding themselves from the chains of poverty.
However as most of us already know the price of colleges/universities are not cheap at all and the cost of tuition and schooling expenses can actually be rather expensive. When looking at the City Universities of New York (CUNY); effective as of fall 2013: full time students at four year colleges who are New York state residents pay $5730 per year, that’s $2865 per semester. For fulltime students at four year colleges who are not New York state residents they pay $15300 per year, that’s $7650 per semester. Now some may think well if a four year college is too expensive, why not attend a two year college/community college. Well you’ll be surprised to believe that it’s not all that cheap either. As of fall 2013 a fulltime student who is a New York state resident pays $4200 per year, that’s $1100 per semester. A fulltime student who is not a New York state resident pays $8400 per year, making that $4200 per semester. Now as bad as that is already that’s excluding the rest of the fees implemented by theses educational institutions. Some of the fees included are things such
as technology fees, which are $100 per semester for fulltime students. Then there are activity fees, which range from $58-$138 per semester for fulltime students, and the consolidated service fee which is $15 per semester. Now that we have covered the fees involved we have to look at related outside costs. These related costs consist of books and supplies which range around $1248, transportation which ranges around $1000, lunch $1148, and personal expenses of $1776 (cuny.edu). I will not even bother to go into room and board as the numbers will just continue to pile on, but the point is education isn’t cheap. Most of us who are financially challenged do; however, have the ability to seek financial aid in order to help us pay off these educational expenses. Those with felonies are denied such educational financial assistance such as: Pell grants, SEOG, TAP, and even the low interest loans that FAFSA offers are all unavailable to felons.
Now with the inability for a felon to legally support themselves on work alone, and unable to seek continuing education the only option left for them is to return to the streets and attempt to make a living off of illegal activity; therefore, risking what most felons end up with: further convictions. Now this causes a large problem for youth felons due to the fact that they already have a felony on their records. According to Paul Bergman in “Felonies, Misdemeanors, and Infractions: Classifying Crimes” he wrote, “Offenses that otherwise are misdemeanors can be elevated to felonies for second-time offenders”. Now while misdemeanors are bad, the severity of the punishment isn’t as bad as that of a felony. In the article written by Bergman he states, “Misdemeanors are criminal offenses that are punishable by up to a year in jail. Punishment for misdemeanors can also include payment of a fine, probation, community service, and restitution. Defendants charged with misdemeanors are entitled to a jury trial. Indigent defendants charged with misdemeanors are entitled to legal representation at government expense. Some states subdivide misdemeanors by class or by degree or define more serious misdemeanor offenses as "gross misdemeanors." These classifications determine the severity of punishment”. Now let us compare that description to Bergman’s description of a felony, “Felonies are the most serious type of criminal offense. Felonies typically involve serious physical harm (or threat of harm) to victims, but felony offenses also include white collar crimes and fraud schemes. Offenses that otherwise are misdemeanors can be elevated to felonies for second-time offenders. Punishment for felonies ranges from imprisonment in prison for one year to life in prison without parole, and felonies like murder may even be punished by imposition of the death penalty. As with misdemeanors, states may also subdivide felonies by class or by degree”. As you can see any further conviction can be harmful to a youth felon as misdemeanors can then be classified as felonies making ones criminal record that much worse, not to mention the severity of the punishments that come along with felonies. As noted any further conviction does very little to help with the battle against poverty as further convictions seem to only bury one deeper and deeper into the bottomless pit of poverty.
With the issue of poverty as grand as it is across the country we can only hope to one day be able to fully put a stop to it. The key to the previous sentence was the word hope. Although we have countless forms of public assistance many are unavailable to felons. Even though education has become slightly more affordable, it is still slightly out of reach for felons. And while most try to live a life free of crime, sometimes poverty tends to render that impossible. Many say we have the key to our own shackles, or that we placed the lock on ourselves in the first place ultimately binding ourselves to a life of poverty, but for many the real question is was there ever really even a choice?
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Adult Criminal Offense Trends Following Juvenile Delinquency
Harold S. Frum
The Journal of Criminal Law, Criminology, and Police Science , Vol. 49, No. 1 (May - Jun., 1958) , pp. 29-49
Published by: Northwestern University
Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1140531
The Effect of Arrests on the Employment and Earnings of Young Men
Jeffrey Grogger
The Quarterly Journal of Economics , Vol. 110, No. 1 (Feb., 1995), pp. 51-71
Published by: Oxford University Press
Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2118510
Educating Students About the War on Drugs: Criminal and Civil Consequences of a Felony Drug Conviction
Marylee Reynolds
Women 's Studies Quarterly, Vol. 32, No. 3/4, Women, Crime, and the Criminal Justice System (Fall- Winter, 2004), pp. 246-260
Published by: The Feminist Press at the City University of New York
Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40004591
Youth Delinquency & "Crime": The Perception and the Reality
Robert Wegs
Journal of Social History , Vol. 32, No. 3 (Spring, 1999) , pp. 603-621
Published by: Oxford University Press
Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3789344
Paul Bergman “Felonies, Misdemeanors, and Infractions: Classifying Crimes”. Nolo. January 2013. http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/crimes-felonies-misdemeanors-infractions-classification-33814.html
Youth Felonies and Poverty
Raymond Guerrero
Urban Studies 101-016
Professor Robinson
12-21-13
One of our country’s if not the world’s greatest problem is that of poverty. Nearly 49 million Americans are struggling to put food on the table. With so many resources available to us the question many people tend to have is why is poverty still among us? Honestly I believe poverty for most can be a never ending cycle, a burden passed from generation to generation. While some may find ways to escape its grasp, most tend to remain restrained within its grip. One of the many factors that contribute to poverty is that of youth felonies. While trying to sometimes provide for loved ones while in poverty, …show more content…
children often make mistakes and approach the task of becoming a provider in the wrong way and end up in trouble with the law. This trouble ends up causing a world of pain for the negative consequences that are brought upon one because of it. Youth felonies tend to hinder future employment and affect the wages one earns. Youth felonies also affect future aspirations for obtaining a higher education. Youth felons are often times denied government assistance which many low income families depend on; however, the most devastating thing of all is most youth felons tend to become second and third time offenders, furthering their voyage from poverty.
Youth felonies often times tend to have a direct negative correlation on job placement.
Whether it leads to being underpaid for services rendered or simply the inability to obtain/secure a job in the first place, more often than not felonies tend to create this barrier. According to Grogger’s article “The Effects of Arrests on the Employment and Earnings of Young Men”, “Tabulations from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY) show that arrests and subsequent labor market outcomes are strongly negatively correlated. Among men who had been arrested prior to 1980, annual earnings averaged $7047 (in 1980) between 1980 and 1984. For men without prior arrest records, annual earnings were 15 percent higher, averaging $8083” (Grogger, p51). Therefore, showing men who commit crimes in their youth, end up paying heavily for it. While some youth felons are able to obtain jobs, these jobs are often general labor jobs that turn out to be dead end jobs. These jobs tend to consist of janitorial duties, construction, or within the fast food industry. While they are still jobs they tend to have little to no opportunity for …show more content…
growth.
Now, while with employment these are merely jobs, not careers and are rarely ever enough to make ends meet, thus the need for government assistance arises. This is where we encounter our next barrier. The government denies assistance to those who were convicted of drug felonies, and the majority of youth felonies are exactly that: drug felonies. Now while this article focuses on women who were convicted of drug felonies the principle still applies, “Although these forms of punishment are “civil” rather than criminal in nature, they are just as punitive because they increase the likelihood of family dissolution since they deny women welfare benefits, food stamps, higher education, employment, and housing, impeding their ability to successfully transition from prison into their communities. As a result, the social safety net for poor people in this country has been deteriorating” (Reynolds, p246). This concept applies just as evenly to men as it does to women. Felonies unwind the never ending chain of poverty, creating the inability to seek refuge within the comfort of the government, being banned from every sort of government assistance from welfare – food stamps. Welfare can provide affordable housing and cash assistance for those who need it in order to make ends meet. Food stamps provide extra money for families who don’t make enough in order to eat properly. By being denied these governmental opportunities it just makes it that much harder to overcome poverty. So what is left, but to find yet another job. This tends to prove difficult more often than not. With jobs already as scarce as can be for felons, the opportunities to make ends meet dwindle and force those who aren’t strong enough to remain within the cycle of poverty.
Now without enough money to make ends meet and without the assistance of government programs such as welfare and food stamps, the obvious solution to most would be to seek continuing education and attempt to go after a college or university opportunity; in order to obtain that degree, and secure a safer and rewarding career increasing their social stature and unbinding themselves from the chains of poverty.
However as most of us already know the price of colleges/universities are not cheap at all and the cost of tuition and schooling expenses can actually be rather expensive. When looking at the City Universities of New York (CUNY); effective as of fall 2013: full time students at four year colleges who are New York state residents pay $5730 per year, that’s $2865 per semester. For fulltime students at four year colleges who are not New York state residents they pay $15300 per year, that’s $7650 per semester. Now some may think well if a four year college is too expensive, why not attend a two year college/community college. Well you’ll be surprised to believe that it’s not all that cheap either. As of fall 2013 a fulltime student who is a New York state resident pays $4200 per year, that’s $1100 per semester. A fulltime student who is not a New York state resident pays $8400 per year, making that $4200 per semester. Now as bad as that is already that’s excluding the rest of the fees implemented by theses educational institutions. Some of the fees included are things such
as technology fees, which are $100 per semester for fulltime students. Then there are activity fees, which range from $58-$138 per semester for fulltime students, and the consolidated service fee which is $15 per semester. Now that we have covered the fees involved we have to look at related outside costs. These related costs consist of books and supplies which range around $1248, transportation which ranges around $1000, lunch $1148, and personal expenses of $1776 (cuny.edu). I will not even bother to go into room and board as the numbers will just continue to pile on, but the point is education isn’t cheap. Most of us who are financially challenged do; however, have the ability to seek financial aid in order to help us pay off these educational expenses. Those with felonies are denied such educational financial assistance such as: Pell grants, SEOG, TAP, and even the low interest loans that FAFSA offers are all unavailable to felons.
Now with the inability for a felon to legally support themselves on work alone, and unable to seek continuing education the only option left for them is to return to the streets and attempt to make a living off of illegal activity; therefore, risking what most felons end up with: further convictions. Now this causes a large problem for youth felons due to the fact that they already have a felony on their records. According to Paul Bergman in “Felonies, Misdemeanors, and Infractions: Classifying Crimes” he wrote, “Offenses that otherwise are misdemeanors can be elevated to felonies for second-time offenders”. Now while misdemeanors are bad, the severity of the punishment isn’t as bad as that of a felony. In the article written by Bergman he states, “Misdemeanors are criminal offenses that are punishable by up to a year in jail. Punishment for misdemeanors can also include payment of a fine, probation, community service, and restitution. Defendants charged with misdemeanors are entitled to a jury trial. Indigent defendants charged with misdemeanors are entitled to legal representation at government expense. Some states subdivide misdemeanors by class or by degree or define more serious misdemeanor offenses as "gross misdemeanors." These classifications determine the severity of punishment”. Now let us compare that description to Bergman’s description of a felony, “Felonies are the most serious type of criminal offense. Felonies typically involve serious physical harm (or threat of harm) to victims, but felony offenses also include white collar crimes and fraud schemes. Offenses that otherwise are misdemeanors can be elevated to felonies for second-time offenders. Punishment for felonies ranges from imprisonment in prison for one year to life in prison without parole, and felonies like murder may even be punished by imposition of the death penalty. As with misdemeanors, states may also subdivide felonies by class or by degree”. As you can see any further conviction can be harmful to a youth felon as misdemeanors can then be classified as felonies making ones criminal record that much worse, not to mention the severity of the punishments that come along with felonies. As noted any further conviction does very little to help with the battle against poverty as further convictions seem to only bury one deeper and deeper into the bottomless pit of poverty.
With the issue of poverty as grand as it is across the country we can only hope to one day be able to fully put a stop to it. The key to the previous sentence was the word hope. Although we have countless forms of public assistance many are unavailable to felons. Even though education has become slightly more affordable, it is still slightly out of reach for felons. And while most try to live a life free of crime, sometimes poverty tends to render that impossible. Many say we have the key to our own shackles, or that we placed the lock on ourselves in the first place ultimately binding ourselves to a life of poverty, but for many the real question is was there ever really even a choice?
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Adult Criminal Offense Trends Following Juvenile Delinquency
Harold S. Frum
The Journal of Criminal Law, Criminology, and Police Science , Vol. 49, No. 1 (May - Jun., 1958) , pp. 29-49
Published by: Northwestern University
Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1140531
The Effect of Arrests on the Employment and Earnings of Young Men
Jeffrey Grogger
The Quarterly Journal of Economics , Vol. 110, No. 1 (Feb., 1995), pp. 51-71
Published by: Oxford University Press
Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2118510
Educating Students About the War on Drugs: Criminal and Civil Consequences of a Felony Drug Conviction
Marylee Reynolds
Women 's Studies Quarterly, Vol. 32, No. 3/4, Women, Crime, and the Criminal Justice System (Fall- Winter, 2004), pp. 246-260
Published by: The Feminist Press at the City University of New York
Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40004591
Youth Delinquency & "Crime": The Perception and the Reality
Robert Wegs
Journal of Social History , Vol. 32, No. 3 (Spring, 1999) , pp. 603-621
Published by: Oxford University Press
Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3789344
Paul Bergman “Felonies, Misdemeanors, and Infractions: Classifying Crimes”. Nolo. January 2013. http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/crimes-felonies-misdemeanors-infractions-classification-33814.html