-Caveat Lector- ------- Forwarded Message Follows ------- National Center For Policy Analysis DAILY POLICY DIGEST Monday, October 18, 1999 PointCast can automatically load NCPA's Policy Digest summaries on your desktop for easy reading. For information go to http://www.ncpa.org/pointcast.html IN TODAY'S DIGEST o IT IS NO COINCIDENCE CRIME IS DOWN AND PUNISHMENT UP in the U.S., says a new study....NCPA o THE INCOME TAX BURDEN HAS FALLEN FOR MOST TAX FILERS, according to new data, with the bottom 50 percent paying just 4.3 percent of the total....NCPA o VIOLENT CRIME IS AT ITS LOWEST LEVEL IN 32 YEARS, reports the F.B.I., after declining seven years in a row....USA TODAY/NEW YORK TIMES o ONLY ONE-THIRD OF MEMBERS OF CONGRESS ARE VETERANS, compared to two-thirds during the Vietnam War era....WALL STREET JOURNAL o A RACIAL GAP IN MIDDLE CLASS STUDENTS' PERFORMANCE contributes to the disparity in high achievers, says a new report....WASHINGTON TIMES o THE BLACK YOUTH SUICIDE RATE HAS MORE THAN DOUBLED since 1980, says the U.S. Surgeon General....NEW YORK TIMES o A RECORD 14.9 MILLION AMERICANS WILL ATTEND COLLEGE this year, including two-thirds of high school graduates....SCRIPPS HOWARD NEW SERVICE/WASHINGTON TIMES IN TODAY'S NEWS PUNISHMENT UP, CRIME DOWN IN AMERICA Serious crime in the United States fell from 1997 to 1998 -- whether measured as the rate of crimes per capita or in absolute terms, according to "Crime and Punishment in America: 1999," a new report from the National Center for Policy Analysis. According to the report by Morgan O. Reynolds, an economist and senior fellow at the NCPA: o The overall rate of serious crime fell to a 25-year low (see Figure http://www.ncpa.org/studies/s229/s229fl.gif ). o The murder rate dropped by 8 percent from 1997 and finally slumped to the rates of the late 1960s, even falling below the average murder rate during this entire century. o The rates for rape and aggravated assault fell by 5 percent each, for robbery by 11 percent and for burglary by 7 percent. o The actual number of murders reported in 1998 was the lowest in more than two decades. Not by coincidence, the likelihood that a criminal will be punished for a serious crime and the amount of time a criminal is likely to spend in prison are higher today than they have been since the 1970s. In 1997, the latest year for which prison data are available, the probability of going to prison for murder rose 13 percent from 1996, for rape 1 percent, for robbery 7 percent and for aggravated assault 11 percent; the probability of going to prison for burglary remained the same. The best overall measure of the potential cost to a criminal of committing crimes is "expected punishment." Roughly speaking, expected punishment is the number of days in prison a typical criminal can expect to serve per crime, as determined by the probabilities of being apprehended, prosecuted, convicted and going to prison, and the median months served for each crime. In 1997 expected punishment continued to increase, rising 20 percent for aggravated assault, 13 percent each for murder and robbery and negligible amounts for rape and burglary compared to 1996. Source: Morgan O. Reynolds, "Crime and Punishment in America: 1999," NCPA Policy Report No. 229, October 1999, National Center for Policy Analysis, 12655 N. Central Expwy., Suite 720, Dallas, Texas 75243, (972) 386-6272. For text http://www.ncpa.org/studies/s229/s229.html For more on Crime and Punishment in America http://www.ncpa.org/pi/crime/crime33.html#A MOST INCOME TAXES PAID BY HIGH INCOME EARNERS The Internal Revenue Service recently released new data on the shares of total federal income taxes paid. Once again, the data show an increase in the share of taxes paid by those with high incomes. o In 1997, the top 1 percent of taxpayers, those with adjusted gross incomes above $250,000, paid 33.2 of all federal income taxes (see figure http://www.ncpa.org/pd/gif/pd101899.gif ). o The top 5 percent, with incomes above $108,000, paid a majority of all income taxes: 51.9 percent. o The data further show that the top 10 percent of taxpayers, those with incomes above $79,000, paid 63 of income taxes; and the top 25 percent, with incomes above $48,000, paid 82 percent. o The top 50 percent of taxpayers, having incomes above $24,000, paid 95.7 percent, meaning that the bottom 50 percent paid just 4.3 percent. The 1997 data simply continue a trend that has been going on for a long time. The share of income taxes paid by the top 1 percent of taxpayers has risen about 1 percent per year for many years. In fact, they have virtually doubled their share of taxes paid since 1981, when they paid 17.6 percent. Obviously, this means that the tax burden borne by the bottom 99 percent of taxpayers has fallen concomitantly from 82.5 percent to 66.8 percent. As a consequence, the effective tax rate on 99 percent of taxpayers has been reduced to 11.7 percent in 1997 from 14.2 percent in 1981. The fact is that despite an unprecedented level of aggregate taxation, most taxpayers are paying less today than they did 20 years ago. Source: Bruce Bartlett, senior fellow, National Center for Policy Analysis, October 18, 1999. For more on Tax Burden by Income Group http://www.ncpa.org/pi/taxes/tax33.html#1 SEVENTH STRAIGHT YEAR OF DECLINING CRIME The Federal Bureau of Investigation's latest Uniform Crime Report finds that incidence of violent crimes reported last year hit their lowest levels in 32 years. Moreover, 1998 marked the seventh consecutive year in which crime in the U.S. declined. Lower rates were reported for virtually every category of violent crime. o The total of all violent crimes fell from 1.63 million in 1997 to 1.53 million in 1998. o The murder rate dropped 7.1 percent last year to 16,914 -- or 6.3 per 100,000 population -- the lowest since 1967. o For aggravated assault, the decline was 4.8 percent between 1997 and 1998 -- and 10.4 percent down in the case of robberies. o The statistics for rape declined 3.2 percent. Property crimes also declined last year, by 6 percent from the previous year. The report said that arrests of juveniles for violent crimes fell 8 percent last year, compared with a 4 percent drop in adult arrests. Crime rates had soared in the late 1980s due to increased violence among juveniles. Sources: Gary Fields and Kevin Johnson, "Crime at Lowest Point in 32 Years," USA Today; and Fox Butterfield, "FBI Study Finds Gun Use in Violent Crimes Declining," New York Times; both October 18, 1999. For USA Today text http://www.usatoday.com/news/digest/nd1.htm#crime For NYT text (requires free registration) http://www.nytimes.com/library/national/101899murder-decline.html For more on Reported Crime Statistics http://www.ncpa.org/pi/crime/crime21.html FEWER VETERANS ARE BEING ELECTED TO CONGRESS There has been a dramatic decline in the number of former military personnel serving in Congress and that could have substantial policy implications, according to a study of U.S. civil-military relations. Researchers say they are unsure whether veterans are not winning seats or are just not running for office. o During the Vietnam War era, about two-thirds of the members of Congress were veterans. o Now the proportion is down to about one-third. o The report, "Project on the Gap Between the Military and Civilian Society," observed that at least since 1816, "there has been a very durable pattern in U.S. behavior: The more veterans in the national political elite, the less likely the United States is to initiate the use of force in the international arena. o The authors of the study found that the U.S. military's officer corps is moving away from the tradition of nonpartisanship and is increasingly more Republican and conservative. Overall, the two-year long study by two dozen political scientists, historians, sociologists and academicians concludes that there is a growing gap between the military and the rest of society -- but the gap isn't as extreme as some have reported it to be." Source: Thomas E. Ricks, "Some Fear U.S. Policy Shift Will Result from Congress's Waning Pool of Vets," Wall Street Journal, October 18, 1999. For more on Congress http://www.ncpa.org/pd/govern/govern4.html INTEGRATION DEMANDS MINORITIES ACHIEVE ACADEMIC DISTINCTION If blacks, Hispanics and American Indians want to achieve a place in American society alongside whites and Asian-Americans, they must excel academically. That is the conclusion of a blue ribbon panel commissioned by the College Board, the National Task Force on Minority High Achievement. o The panel observed that while many minority members excel academically, many more do not -- despite the narrowing of the achievement gaps since the 1970s. o It recommended initiating high quality after-school and summer supplemental programs; a commitment from schools, colleges and universities to focus on high achieving minorities; and public and private resources to seek out and fund successful programs to tackle the problem. o The panel found that minorities lag behind their white and Asian-American peers at all socioeconomic levels -- including the middle class. o The issue of middle-class minorities' underperformance has only recently received public attention the panel said, even though it has been acknowledged since the late 1960s. The middle-class gap is significantly related to the high- achievement issue, since it is the middle class that typically produces high achievers. Source: Annie Nakao, "Success by Minorities Needed for Integration, Task Force Says," Washington Times, October 18, 1999. For more on Other Higher Education Issues http://www.ncpa.org/pi/edu/edu13b.html IN OTHER NEWS GUNS FIGURE MORE OFTEN IN SUICIDES THAN HOMICIDES The number of Americans who use guns to commit suicide far surpasses those who are killed by others with firearms, according to the National Vital Statistics Report. o In 1997, guns were used in 17,566 suicides, compared to 13,522 homicides. o Some 60 percent of the 30,000 Americans who take their own lives each year do so through firearms, according to Kay Redfield Jamison, a professor of psychiatry at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and author of "Night Falls Fast: Understanding Suicide." o The professor reports that 90 to 95 percent of people who commit suicide have a diagnosable psychiatric illness. o Also, the number of young people who kill themselves in the U.S. has tripled since the 1950s. Experts say the stigma and taboo attached to suicide have kept the problem out of public discussion, although that is beginning to change. This month the Labor, Health and Human Services subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee will hold the first congressional hearings on suicide. U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher says that the suicide rate among black youths ages 10 to 19 -- which had traditionally been lower than that for white youngsters -- has more than doubled since 1980. The rate had been 2.1 per 100,000 in 1980. It rose to 4.5 per 100,000 by 1995. Source: Fox Butterfield, "Guns Used More for Suicide Than Homicide," New York Times, October 17, 1999. For more on Reported Crime Statistics http://www.ncpa.org/pi/crime/crime21.html COMPETITION FOR TOP SCHOOLS INTENSIFIES While there are still more college spots available to American students than there are applicants, competition is heating up for admissions to the best colleges and universities, experts warn. As a result, substantial numbers of high school students are filling out as many as 10 or 15 applications. Admissions officials say that competition to enter the very best schools was heavy this fall and is expected to be the same next fall. The U.S. Department of Education and the College Board report that: o A record 14.9 million Americans will be studying at colleges and universities this year. o Enrollment will jump 10 percent in the next 10 years -- with an increasing majority of college students attending school full-time. o Two-thirds of all high school students now go directly on to college. o More than two million students -- a record high -- took the SAT during the past school year. While educators report that it is "getting insane" at the top echelon schools, it is also getting more competitive for admission to top state schools. More public universities are reportedly luring top students away from private schools than in the past. Source: Rachael Smolkin (Scripps Howard New Service), "Students Try Harder as College Demand Rises," Washington Times, October 17, 1999. For more on Other Higher Education Issues http://www.ncpa.org/pi/edu/edu13b.html * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * NATIONAL CENTER FOR POLICY ANALYSIS DALLAS, TEXAS "Making Ideas Change the World" Internet Address: http://www.ncpa.org * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * A<>E<>R ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Integrity has no need of rules. -Albert Camus (1913-1960) + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + The only real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes. -Marcel Proust + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + "Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your common sense." --Buddha + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + It is preoccupation with possessions, more than anything else, that prevents us from living freely and nobly. -Bertrand Russell + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + "Everyone has the right...to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers." Universal Declaration of Human Rights + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + "Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut." Ernest Hemingway + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + Forwarded as information only; no endorsement to be presumed + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without charge or profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this type of information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
