Analysis Of Michael Burry's ' Un / Conventionalism '

One of the main economic problems that many people, particularly gangs, in Robert Taylor faced was the fact that they didn’t want to trade in their status for entry-level jobs because in many cases, gang leaders made far more than they would have if they worked minimum wage jobs (72). Many of the gang leaders such as J.T. held the false belief that the drug economy was “useful for the community, since it redistributed the drug addict’s money back into the community via the gang’s philanthropy” (115). However, the drug economy is not a stable or lucrative economy compared to your average jobs because it was clearly very hard for people to get ahead in gangs, thus no one ever had a fair shot of earning more money in their life span. Nevertheless, the situation can tend to be a grey area of debate since a lot of the residents did attempt to hold blue-collar jobs but continued to get laid off (60). In this case, the underground economy of drug sales may have been the only choice for residents looking for an income. Another way the gangs play into the economic situation is when there are drive by shootings, in which case parents

Gang crime is one of the most intriguing social phenomena’s across the world, as defining the deviancy has been difficult due to a broad range of definitions (Wood & Alleyne, 2010, pg. 101). One definition is given by David Curry and

Rational Economics Theory is utilized as an umbrella argument to explain why all individuals, including youths, become integrated into gang organizations. The theory is downright the same to microeconomic Rational Choice Theory and argues that individuals, in their desire for financial gain or more utility, utilize gangs and criminal organizations as a means to achieve their ends. Gangs are seen as nothing more than businesses or organizations that serve a primary economic function and act to provide financial sustainability for those without the ability to achieve it through other, more legitimate means.

Contributing to these drug issues throughout America are multiple street gangs, drug cartels and drug lords. These groups to transport illegal drugs into America, to sell them illegally on the streets, for a very hefty profit. High crime profiled states and cities such as, New York, Baltimore, Maryland, District of Columbia, and Chicago host some of America’s most notorious gangs, cartels, and drug lords. The purpose of this research paper is to analyze the life of a notorious Baltimore drug lord, by the name of Anthony Ayeni Jones, and how a life of drugs effected his personal life, caused criminal actions, and resulted in court trials and a life sentence in prison.

1. Chapter three, Why Do Drug Dealers Still Live With Their Moms?, expresses an intriguing thought by authors, Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner. The Freakonomics authors follow a courageous man, Sudhir Venkatesh, a student at the University of Chicago, in his effort to understand and research the mysterious drug dealing business. Venkatesh first approached dangerous gangs and dealers in Chicago with a simple survey to learn more about them. After stumbling upon a branch of the “Black Gangster Disciple Nation”, Venkatesh wanted to take his study further. J.T., this specific branches leader, was interested in Venkatesh’s survey and initiated him as a spectator to his group. Venkatesh was integrated with this group for six years an acquired an immense amount of information on drug and gang groups. Thankfully, J.T. kept documents on the group 's wages. By looking at these books, Venkatesh was able to identify the hierarchy of a typical drug cartel. Which is where the main question of chapter is answered. Only the people on the top of the system made good money, for example, J.T. Contrary to popular belief, lower jobs of this business like foot soldiers make only $3.30 an hour, below minimum wage. Despite the fact that the foot soldiers are the ones who physically put their life on the lines. This style is compared to major corporations such as McDonald 's for a more context comparison. However, the people that are

During the Prohibition Era, Al Capone was an extremely powerful gangster that ran Chicago’s underground. At his pinnacle, he led uncountable brothels and speakeasies in which he and his syndicate could manage their various criminal acts, of which included illicit gambling, prostitution, and the sale of alcohol, which of course was illegal at this time and thus how he made the majority of his money. While exact numbers are not available, it is estimated that while at the peak of his power, Capone had brought in well over $1 billion in today’s currency and employed over 600 gangsters in order to do his business and protect him (Simkin, “Al Capone”). When asked whether or not he was a criminal, Capone even cheekily responded, “I make my money by supplying a public demand. If I break the law, my customers who number hundreds of the best people in Chicago, are as guilty as I am. The only difference is that I sell and they buy. Everybody calls me a racketeer. I call myself a businessman” (qtd. Simkin).

“Gangs have morphed from social organizations into full-fledged criminal enterprises” (Thomas, 2009, para 5). Gangs are highly sophisticated and more dangerous then ever. The number one reason to join a gang is money; and 95 percent of gangs profit comes from drug dealing

Racketeers and gangsters competed for business, spawning a wave of violence across the nation” (Hanson 35). No place was more evident of this than Chicago.

One key strategy that Smith uses is two specific and distinct types of evidence that appeal to her two audiences. For this article, her two main audiences are ambitious students preparing for college, and those who are now grown, successful, and the elite of the country, due to their ambition. Smith introduces the story of Rod Dreher early on in her article. This story serves as personal and emotional evidence that draws the readers in by pulling on their heart strings. Dreher’s story is a guide of what not to do, and may strike close to home

Freakonomics was one of the best novels that I have ever read! I am truly amazed at how Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner compared their study and research to the economy that we live in today. Out of all of the chapters in Freakonomics, Chapter 3: Conventional Wisdom, is the one that stood out the most. This particular topic relates to the world in many different ways.

The drug dealers paid their foot soldier’s minimal wages like Mc Donald’s and people worked in low wage jobs in hopes of climbing the ladder to make it big. The economist received financial data from a Chicago gang and were able to analysis the financial criminal workings, in which they found that the McDonald’s organizational Chart was almost identical to the drug dealers chart. Whether Drug dealers or McDonald’s both pay a low wage giving hope for little spots to make it big.

The topic of this paper is gangsters in organized crime can either work alone or work with other gangsters. When people commit crimes with other criminals, their personal ties to each other become strong when there is especially trust or there could be no trust, however, those ties can become strong at some point.

The most common obstacle for a busy high school student is how to spend and manage time so that they are doing what makes one best off. This seemingly fundamental concept is what I struggle with every day. So when I learned about economics, I was enthralled with the problem of scarcity. Hearing a lecture from an economist during a free period at school, I knew right away that I would be maximizing my utility by getting involved in this study. As I have ventured through high school, my economics community is one that I am proud to be a part of. I have been able to publish articles sent to over 8,000 Chicago teens on economic issues facing the world today and why they should be of importance to us. I have been able to publish in the Junior Economist, where I discuss what the future of leadership will look like for my generation. However my place in this community is not just through print, but through action as well.

Organized crime groups are continuously looking for ways to profit from legitimate as well as illegal activities. It is no surprise that organized crime groups play a large role in lucrative illicit activities such as prostitution and in the pornography industries. Some people such as journalist Jack Anderson (Lyman, 2015) believe that the pornography industry is controlled by organized crime groups; however, this is debatable and also controversial. One thing is certain however, any business that produces a lucrative amount of cash is highly susceptible to organized crime influences. This can be seen in the pornography industry. With money producing opportunities such as porno industries, pornographic book stores and adult film making, it is not surprising to see organized crime members involved in behind the scene activities. For example, bookstores offer an opportunity for organized crime groups to skim money off the top, thus increasing and decreasing the tax liability (Lyman, 2015). Legitimate stores offer a place for money laundering as well as disguise other illegal activities that may be occurring within the store. It also creates a legitimate place to launder money from illegal activities such as gambling, prostitution and loan sharking.

Many unsuspecting people would assume the UK’s financial sector has no involvement with this level of crime, but the expression ‘the City of London being the laundry of choice’ reflects how common and openly accepted it is that London is the money laundering capital of the world. When describing the structure of the international drug trade in an interview with the Independent Newspaper, investigative journalist, Roberto Sarviano said “Mexico is its heart and London is its head”. This is undoubtedly due to London being one of the most, if not the most, sophisticated financial centres in the world.