Letter sent to FactCheck.org

[ashling]

Here is a letter I just sent. I realize it is not the best, but I am upset.

Dear editor,

I am a community college instructor in American Government. I really appreciate the work you do. I frequently utilize Annenberg and Fact Check in my classes.
However, I have been, at times annoyed at the background information - or lack thereof - that accompanies your items.

I just received your weekly summary which contains an item on Vice President Biden’s speech in Flint recently. In fact, this is the second week that you have featured this issue. I am sure that you have done your homework in collecting the appropriate data from the police records and have accurately reported the discrepancies . However the background for this issue is of no little importance.

My masters paper, Gilded Again: Extreme Income Inequality in Our Time, included study into crime reporting and the effects of poverty and income inequality. My research indicated that poor economic conditions, poverty , and inequality can lead to under-reporting of crimes of all types.

Anecdotally, I have from my daughter in Flint the story of a break in by an armed intruder. When the homeowner offered his watch because he had no money, the gunman said, “Oh my God. What am I doing” put his gun back in his coat and ran out of the home. I don’t know if this was ever reported. The news is filled with stories of this kind. I don’t know if any of them are ever reported.

I am, however, sure of one thing. The real crime is that these people were driven to these acts through despair and desperation - that we as a country let this happen These are the issues that Vice President Biden was addressing in his speech. He deserves to have that noted along with the discrepancies in crime statistics.

Respectfully,