Your Opinion: Thousands jailed for being poor

Dear Editor:

Just finished reading the book "Not a Crime to be Poor: The Criminalization of Poverty in America," by Peter Edelman.

Most Americans believe debtors prisons are a thing of the past, yet today, people are in jail by the thousands for no other reasons than that they are poor. As the Justice Department found when it investigated police practices in Ferguson, Missouri, massive fines and fees are levied for minor crimes such as broken taillights and rolling through stop signs, and when the poor cannot pay, the result is an epidemic of repeated stays in jail.

Edelman argues that Ferguson is everywhere in America today. During the days of the so-called tax revolution, voters insisted that politicans cut taxes drastically, forcing cities and states to look to alternative ways of raising money. Edelman shows that we live in a country where, to our shame, it is a crime to be poor.

I would hope the good people of Missouri will put a stop to this evil practice and come forward with some positive changes.

We need progressive, enlightened treatment of the poor and minoroties not just for them but for the benefit of all of us.

I agree with Edelman, the new criminalization of poverty is a calamity. Most of us did not understand what was going on until Ferguson. It doesn't look like we as a nation currently lack the will to act as a nation to rectify these problems.

The book is based on a lot of research and presents a sound argument for positive changes. Check it out!