Guide to Matt Taibbi's The Divide

By IRB Media

PLEASE NOTE: This is a companion to Matt Taibbi's The Divide and NOT the original book.

Preview:

The Divide by Matt Taibbi approaches the complicated topic of the unequal treatment of defendants in the United States criminal justice system based on wealth, through individual stories and rarely heard cases revealed in court proceedings.

In the US, bankers and financial officials whose unethical and illegal behavior contributed to the 2008 financial crisis and subsequent economic scandals rarely faced prosecution for their activities.

Inside this companion:

• Overview of the book

• Important People

• Key Insights

• Analysis of Key Insights

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• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: Aug 27, 2015
• ISBN: 9781943427819

IRB Media

With IRB books, you can get the key takeaways and analysis of a book in 15 minutes. We read every chapter, identify the key takeaways and analyze them for your convenience.

Book preview

Overview

The Divide by Matt Taibbi approaches the complicated topic of the unequal treatment of defendants in the United States criminal justice system based on wealth, through individual stories and rarely heard cases revealed in court proceedings.

In the US, bankers and financial officials whose unethical and illegal behavior contributed to the 2008 financial crisis and subsequent economic scandals rarely faced prosecution for their activities. Instead, either the very smallest actors in those activities were prosecuted, or the companies negotiated fines and settlements outside of court. Many of these cases made use of the collateral consequences, a principle based on a memorandum written by Attorney General Eric Handler that states prosecutors should consider whether prosecution would cause too many lost jobs or too much financial harm to the company.

Policing in major US cities generates a high volume of arrests, criminal charges for trivial offenses, and economic incentives not to fight allegations in court. The broken windows theory of crime is a theory that preventing small crime can lead to the prevention of larger crimes. Similarly, stop-and-frisk works on the notion that prosecuting minor offenders will catch a wider variety of major offenses and deter anyone looking to commit more serious crimes. These two strategies make the lives of residents in high-crime areas more difficult because they are often arrested on inflated charges.

For undocumented immigrants,