ECONOMIC RECESSION: SHOULD WHITE COLLAR CRIMINALS BE IMPRISONED? – Ben Jacob

ECONOMIC RECESSION: SHOULD WHITE COLLAR CRIMINALS BE IMPRISONED? – Ben Jacob: Several high- profile cases of white-collar crime have been in the news recently. Scandals on Wall Street, in the Irish banking system and amongst organizations, like FÁS, have dominated the front pages of newspapers and the schedules of radio programmes and TV chat shows. So what is it about white-collar crime that makes it so newsworthy in comparison to ordinary crime? Sometimes it is partly the sheer scale of operation, but more often than not it is to do with who is involved. People are completely shocked to hear that an affluent business man was involved in crime. This is also the reason that the populace becomes so irate. Why would one feel happy about paying taxes to drive a politician in a limo between two buildings in an airport? Why should the repoman come and reclaim your house when the bank manager has being embezzling funds for the good of his bulging pocket? These offending individuals have been entrusted with huge assets so if it transpires that they have abused their authority to further their own cause, the little guy who loses out won’t be too pleased.?