Re: Black markets vs. cryptoanarchy

[Jim Wise <jw250@columbia.edu>]

On Wed, 13 Nov 1996, Timothy C. May wrote:

> At 10:56 PM -0500 11/12/96, Jim Wise wrote:

> >Which it does...  FWIW, I tend to agree with your general point, but I
> >moved from downtown Manhattan to Harlem recently, and was surprised to see
> >how many foodstuffs cost _more_ up here, as well as the obvious fact that
> >many are harder to get...  Junk food and cheap liquor are everywhere,
> >though...
 
> But you're conflating a separate issue: the cost of doing business in
> high-crime ghettoes. Both rich and poor alike find prices high and
> selection poor in high-crime ghettoes. Likewise, both rich and poor alike
> find prices low and selection good in low-crime, suburban locales.

I would hardly classify alphabet city as a `low-crime suburban locale'.
Much more of an issue is that the locals downtown are much closer to being
within walking distance of the higher-rent higher-income areas, so the
local bodegas must keep prices low to compete.  Up here, it's a lot
farther to an alternative, and a lot fewer people have cars, so you have a
lot fewer choices.  The result is that what choices there are can pretty
much stock what they please and charge what they please...

The issue here is much more one of the insularity of the ghetto than it's
crime rate...

--
				Jim Wise
				System Administrator
				GSAPP, Columbia University
				jim@santafe.arch.columbia.edu
				http://www.arch.columbia.edu/~jim
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