74novaman wrote:Whatever happened to minding your own business? I feel it is fairly immoral to attempt to set up citizens to watch each other on behalf of the government. Sounds an awful lot like tyranny to me, which I would equate with immorality.srothstein wrote:I guess I am weird but I don't see a problem with the program. I see it being abused by gang members getting revenge on their opposition but the basic program is not illegal or immoral.
You make some good points, but in the end I view things like this as the beginning of a slippery slope. If we can be conditioned to "inform" on our neighbors for one thing, how long before we're expected to inform on each other for everything else the mayor or anyone else "in charge" decides shouldn't be going on?
Rival gang members have always had the ability to turn each other in to eliminate competition without the $1,000. Although it happens occasionally, the practice isn't widespread today because they realize that where that "slippery slope" leads would not be beneficial to their long term "business" and personal interests.
Good citizens are likewise unrestrained from reporting criminal conduct of any type to make their communities safer. Pouring motivational money into the mix will bring out the worst, rather than the best, in people.
However well intentioned (or not) Newark's mayor may be, history clearly shows that a nation riddled with paid informers is one of the critical underpinnings of tyranny wherever it has flourished. This practice is also absent where liberty prevails. I cannot support anything that tries to put this ugly building block in place, regardless of how innocent the excuse sounds today.
Newark's program is worth watching to see how gullible its citizens are. My hope is that there won't be a whole lot of takers.