Pubdate: Fri, 27 Sep 2002 Source: Stevens Point Journal (WI) Copyright: 2002 The Stevens Point Journal Contact: http://www.wisinfo.com/journal/contactus/readerservices/letter_to_editor.shtml Website: http://www.wisinfo.com/journal/index.shtml Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2517 Author: Molly Taylor WHITE-COLLAR CRIMES HAVE VICTIMS, TOO I'm writing this letter in response to an article on Sept. 17 regarding white-collar prisons. White-collar crime may not physically hurt anyone, but it sure isn't victimless. The real victim is America. We are a corporate nation, and that disgusts me. Our country is run by greedy, white men who could care less about anything other than lining their already fat pockets. Granted, not all people in power are like that, but lately it seems like the bad is outweighing the good. The rich keep getting richer, while the poor continue to be poor. We should care about educating our people, feeding them, making sure they get proper health care, not making as much money as possible no matter what. And when these white-collar criminals get arrested, they go to minimum security "prisons" with no fences and hardly any supervision. They are some of the most despicable criminals. They don't need to steal to feed their families or to survive on the most basic level; they steal to feed their own greed. How is it right that we can send an 18-year-old nonviolent male to prison for possessing a little bit of marijuana, but these people who steal from all of us get to hang out with their buddies in sunny Florida? Victimless crimes? If you ask me, we are all victims. MOLLY TAYLOR Stevens Point - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake