America better or worse for the decline of LCN?

This came up on another thread and I would like people’s honest opinion on it
Was America better off with a strong LCN, or are we better off now?
Before you answer, consider a few things
The construction industry and the state of infrastructure then and now
Pay day loan companies that charge 300 percent interest
“Private equity firms” which do nothing more then bust out companies legally
The safety or certain urban areas today vs 30 years ago
Who filled the power vacuum?
Can anyone remember a stray bullet from a wise guy killing a kid playing in their yard?
Service and quality in the casino industry then and now

Please discuss

Reaching.

Seek moral absolution from your preist, not here.

I require no absolution, I am looking for intellegent opinions. I already got yours in the other thread, and I disagree but respect it.

Crime statistics were much higher in the 80's when the mafia was stronger, but it's unconnected. The 80's were violent , because of the explosion of cocaine and crack and the subsequent turf wars to control their distribution.

Certain mafia-saturaed neighborhoods, such as Melrose Park, were certainly safer then, but the overall trend is in the opposite direction.

As far as bad lending practices and swings in the construction cycle, I think that's more to do with legislation concerning Wall Street than anything to do with the mafia.

Infrastructure tends to be better in states that didn't have a strong mafia presence, but there again I believe it to be unconnected. I think its just that the mafia had a stronger presence in older cities in the NE and the Midwest and in those places infrastrcuture is the worst. Also, theyr'e high tax states that have a hard time attracting new business to expand their tax base.

So you think Mississippi has better infastructure then Illionois or NY?
I would have to respectfully disagree

Depends what you mean and how you measure it. CA has some of the worst, most terrible freeways in the country. Some midwest and southern states (like I65) have freeways that are like the autobahn.

Yes, the Autobahn crime family..

I65, as in Indiana?
Like the autobahn?
Yeah...from 294 to I80/94, and a mile before and after Indy....the rest of it is like the test track in the Baja.
try using one of the rest stops...they are like the rest rooms at Auschwitz.
The ex Governer took the stimulous money that was supposed to repair it from Gary to the river and stuck it in the genral fund to create a fake surplus....but I digress..lets stay out of politics

New York is THE financial centre of the world, let alone the United States, that's why all the mid-west transplants are re-locating here in their droves.

Infrastructure tends to be better in states without a Mafia presense? You mean like Texas, Baltimore, St. Louis or Detroit? Get the fuck outta here

And before people argue about whether Detroit are still active their presense is negligible enough to be written off as irrelevant, they hardly have a street presense at all.

Why did you have to pick Mississippi ?

I have to say that the LCN influence in general have always been there location and everywhere else deals with their local syndicates.

Arm,

Like most things you have no idea what you are talking about. Go on I65 from Indy to Nashville and compare to I5 from century valley to LA (especially commerce city).

I don't expect you have done either because you live in your mom's basement writing moronic posts pretending to be a made guy.

the mob ran neighborhoods in the 70-80's were a lot safer I will give you that. I grew up in bostons north end during this time and nobody fucked around down there . We use to sleep with our doors open in the summer . Safest place you could live. The good old days

I was gonna reply to this in another thread, where you made similar point about selective outrage.

There is a fallacy that people like believe crime is dead, etc. The fact is Goldman Sachs backed a truck up to the US Treasury in 2008 and emptied it the fuck out. There wasn't a cop in sight. Crime is alive and well.

Until police get off their asses and start enforcing these crimes - and there are many of them - then I can't buy into the whole "crime is low" vibe. The payday loans, banksters, personal injury attorneys are criminals to me.

Even though mob guys were criminals, they looked out for the neighborhood. They didn't foreclose every house in the neighborhood, or trash it with upzoning (see NYC city council).

Texas is a growing state and it has a lot of areas that are extremely wealthy and new. I would be willing to bet a lot of the infrastructure in Texas is better than New York, though I've never been to either one

What I can say from personal experience is much of Florida's, Georgia's and Tennessee's infrastructure is a lot better than Chicagoland

Those banks borrowed that money from the government and are paying it back with interest. They're not nearly as parasitic as the mafia in the long run, though popular culture lionized the mafia and vilifies the banks

"Until police get off their asses and start enforcing these crimes - and there are many of them - then I can't buy into the whole "crime is low" vibe"

I don't buy the "crime is low" BS either. I recently talked to a friend of a family member who retired from the STL police about 10 years ago. He told me that a lot of what is going on with lower crime stats is a lot of number fiddling. For example, if 40 cars on a street get broken into, instead of reporting 40 incidents of theft the cops will group all 40 break ins in to one incident. Therefore instead of 40 thefts to report, there is only one......and Voila! The crime rate has decreased dramatically!

Ummm..I drive between Gary and Lu'Ville on a regular basis son, and I'll say it again, it is a hot mess.
A patchwork of blacktop and half baked repairs.
maybe you sould get out of the trailer park more often and you can raise your standards

You nailed it my friend

Really??? This thread / string is absurd.

For someone to ask if America (or any other country) is better off with, or without, organized criminals, demonstrates to me, that person has a complete lack of understanding of civilized, decent community and society.

An attempt to suggest that construction, money lending, casinos and so forth were better off with criminals in charge is also ludicrous.

Is society better with or without crime and criminals? Why not ask if mankind has been better served by Hitler or Jesus / Buddha / Mohammed (pick your deity)?

Idiocy and naivete as its finest.

Wall Street types have stolen more money in the last ten years then the mob ever pulled in. Bernie madoff , Goldman Sachs , subprime loans etc etc. Banks are worse then the mob in the long run.

Neither better or worse as the vacuum has been or will be filled by other like minded people.