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TED - Crack Economics

Talks Steven Levitt: Why do crack dealers still live with their moms?

  • crazychu
  • posted by crazychu
  • Date 2/6/2009 8:41:46 PM
  • Views: 3944
  • Mature
  • Mature
  • Violence, Drug Content, Language

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15 Comments

Current View: 15 / Show all Comments

LeighCedar : LVL 38: VP 4.6: said:

LeighCedar

13 votes NegativePositive

276 days 23 hours ago...

For anyone who enjoyed this, I highly suggest reading Freakenomics (co authored by Levitt).

Along with a more in depth look at crack pay scale you will learn:

- The correlation between certain names and socioeconomic level

- How legalizing abortion correlated to lower crime rates

- How algorithms can be used to determine which sumo wrestlers are throwing the match, and which teachers are cheating for their students.

Great Upload.

LeighCedar : LVL 38: VP 4.6: said:

LeighCedar

12 votes NegativePositive

276 days 13 hours ago...

^ He was talking about 10-20 years ago. Inflation might have made it closer to eight now.

LeighCedar : LVL 38: VP 4.6: said:

LeighCedar

5 votes NegativePositive

276 days 13 hours ago...

^Ahhhh, so you are just using your crack dealing/inner-city knowledge to second guess the actual research?

Thanks for your insight professor ;)

Edit: Just saw your edited post now.

If you want that information he has some in Freakenomics and the rest in his paper he makes reference to in the video. I haven`t read them in years, but I think he makes a solid argument for his figures.

rydl61106 : LVL 34: VP 4.2: said:

rydl61106

8 votes NegativePositive

276 days 9 hours ago...

http://fora.tv/2008/01/24/Sudhir_Venkatesh_Gang_Leader_For_a_Day

This is the book reading of Sudhirs( the guy that actually lived it) I saw it on FORA a while ago and its one of the few book readings that have kept me interested the whole time.

Check it out he goes way more in depth then the guy on this vid.

dude_from_detroit : LVL 20: VP 2.9: said:

dude_from_detroit

0 votes NegativePositive

274 days 7 hours ago...

listenin to this guy talk about selling crack is like listening to a blind man describe colors

selfworm : LVL 43: VP 5: said:

selfworm

6 votes NegativePositive

274 days 7 hours ago...

"weak and shit" lol
so true
Or it`s just greed

W84Q : LVL 34: VP 4.2: said:

W84Q

14 votes NegativePositive

274 days 3 hours ago...

LOL, he called McDonald`s a restaurant !

srk : LVL 34: VP 4.2: said:

srk

3 votes NegativePositive

274 days 2 hours ago...

The "weak and shit" theory doesn`t really play out in the corporate environment, since 95% (or even more) of the employees never meet the CEOs on everyday basis, at a personal level, to know what the CEO is getting paid.

And if the CEOs are feeding themselves green to look strong to the shareholders, the shareholders already know by now that the company is failing from the falling share prices.

So, I second selfworm, it IS GREED.

cavey : LVL 37: VP 4.5: said:

cavey

5 votes NegativePositive

274 days ago...

What is all this book reading!! I want all my knowledge from online humour video websites!

kizm01 : LVL 25: VP 3.4: said:

kizm01

-2 votes NegativePositive

273 days 18 hours ago...

4:05 Around there he says u cant smoke pot. (or cocaine) - 2nd part is true but the first part = wrong.

thinkbolt : LVL 34: VP 4.2: said:

thinkbolt

1 votes NegativePositive

273 days 17 hours ago...

Heheh. "Weak and shit."

Max_Power : LVL 27: VP 3.6: said:

Max_Power

1 votes NegativePositive

273 days 15 hours ago...

kizmo, he says "you can`t smoke powder cocaine," not "pot or cocaine"

Very interesting and entertaining video. These TED talks are great, I recommend the one on corvids (crows)

neon neophyte : LVL 26: VP 3.5: said:

neon neophyte

8 votes NegativePositive

273 days 14 hours ago...

alifeva isnt wrong. you shouldnt break down a drug dealers earnings into an hourly wage. you could, but it would be an estimate, at best. when does a dealers clock start, when does it stop? i mean, technically, in a theoretical scenario where said dealer is on the clock 24/7 (you can call anytime, as, when a deal does happen, the amount made could be substantial) his hourly earnings might be calculated to be thin, but hes "making money" every hour of every day. the other end of the spectrum is, the dealer is only on the clock during the moment of the deal. a ten minute transaction makes (for example) 100 bucks profit. well, 100x6 = $600 dollars an hour. wtf?! i could manipulate this number, anyway which way i felt like.

WildMark : LVL 6: VP 1.5: said:

WildMark

2 votes NegativePositive

273 days 10 hours ago...

I find your tag "nigger" offensive.





Racist.

LeighCedar : LVL 39: VP 4.7: said:

LeighCedar

1 votes NegativePositive

273 days 9 hours ago...

@ Neon,

I believe they calculated a daily wage then made it hourly. I`d have to read it again to be sure, but right now beer is too important.

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