Arms for Jobs
By Oscar Gordon
I am not a big fan of gun buyback programs, because they are all about signalling, and have absolutely zero impact on crime or the number of firearms out there. At best they can get old, probably malfunctioning firearms off the street, at worst, they are a waste of money as they often pay $100-$200 for junk pieces. They are all for show, to get air time on the news, and a terrible (albeit small) waste of resources.
However, this gun buy back is different. This gun buy back can actually make a huge difference in a lot of lives. This effort can actually reduce crime & violence because it lowers opportunity costs to gain access to some very skilled training, training which, if completed successfully, can lead to very well paid work that can break a cycle of criminal behavior.
Here, the gun is more than a hunk of metal & plastic. It’s a signal, perhaps a promise, that a person wants to exchange the violence trade for a much more constructive one. And huge kudos to the Boilermakers for doing something exceptionally positive for their community. If only half of those who take up the offer complete the training, the benefit to Pittsburg will still be worth orders of magnitude more than a handful of gift cards.
I could go for this. You outline most of the problems with buybacks, with one other issue being disposal of “used” guns. But this aligns the incentives with societies needs in a better way.Report
Indeed, this looks good. In our reigning paradigm of “everybody needs a degree” we overlook the skilled trades. Welding is the kind of skill that’s basically a ticket to lifelong employment at solid middle class pay. Trucking is another one. My company passed out a company-wide pay increase last August and we’re getting another bump of about 10% this May. Some of that’s performance-dependent, as it should be, but I qualify so all’s good.Report