Durham going from ‘hug a thug’ to ‘hire a thug’

Donna Martinez posted this morning about the Durham City Council’s consideration of prohibiting private sector employers from asking criminal-background questions of prospective employees. I just have to weigh in on it.

Durham has long had a reputation of coddling criminals and being lenient to a fault about anti-social behavior. This has been dubbed the “hug a thug” approach. It’s manifested itself in rampant aggressive pan-handling and dangerous loitering. At times, when things have finally come to an embarrassing head, the city leaders have actually shown a little gumption and cracked down. But their first reaction always is the bleeding-heart approach.

Durham’s elected leaders have a habit of spending time on nonsense, such as making grand proclamations about nuclear proliferation and immigration policy, neither of which should be a concern of a local council. It’s one thing for the council to decide that the city will not ask about criminal background checks, but it’s another altogether for them to acquiesce to their totalitarian instincts and wish to require everyone in the private sector to follow suit.

Even the city’s approach is a sham. It says that only at the point of offering a job can the city ask about a candidate’s criminal history. How is that any different from doing it on the first form the city asks the applicant to fill out? All the city’s approach does is ensure a lot of wasted time, resources and effort should they discover, at the job-offering stage, they’ve been dealing with an ex-con. Unless they’re looking for one to hire, that is.

Mayor Bill Bell, Councilman Howard Clement and City Manager Tom Bonfield have doubled down on the policy, with Bonfield saying, the policy won’t change “as long as I’m sitting here.” Bell and Clement intend to push the issue with Durham’s legislative delegation, even though the chances are nil that a Republican-led House and Senate would ever give them the authority to require private businesses to join in this nonsense.

A lefty group, the Second Chance Alliance, managed to convince the city to abdicate due diligence in hiring, which is crazy. It’s a buyer’s market for employers out there. That means the standard for hiring should go up, not down. In a job market such as we’re in now, the city should be able to hire people with absolutely no blemishes on their records. Why are we entertaining the notion of hiring criminals?

Duke Prof Mike Munger: We’re Experiencing a Capital Strike

Duke University professor of economics and political science Mike Munger talked with News Radio 680 WPTF’s Bill LuMaye about the economy yesterday. The interview took place just as the DOW had dropped by roughly 500 points. It’s worth listening to. Munger says people with money to invest have gone on strike, and he explains why. You can hear it here, or at www.wptf.com. Click on On Demand, Best of, Bill LuMaye Show. I continue to wonder how far we have to decline before it dawns on enough people in power that our economic policies are taking us over the cliff. The producers, the job creators, and the investors are screaming at the top of their lungs — the capital strike — and yet very little changes.

Durham Politicians Want Authority to Dictate Private-Sector Job Application Questions

The Herald-Sun reports that Durham Mayor Bill Bell and city council members want to be able to force private-sector businesses NOT to ask job applicants about their criminal history on job applications. An attorney who works for the city told the politicians they need General Assembly approval to get the authority to do it. The so-called “ban the box” practice — meaning removing the box on the job application that asks if you have a  criminal history — is already in place for Durham government jobs. It’s a stunning reminder that liberal politicians firmly believe they have the right to control private entities.