Comments by "BVargas78" (@BVargas78) on "El Salvador's Incredible War on Gangs: Victory at Any Cost" video.

@raidermaxx2324 It will be easier with less crime and gangs in the street. Insurance premiums start to go down for one thing. Small business has more confidence to operate without fear of robbery or extortion. And we get back on the path to recovery.
4
@raidermaxx2324 You say it has not happened yet, but it does happen. It's happening now, small scale subsistence level trading, common people doing what they have always done, grafting and hustling to make a basic living. And now they can benefit from not having criminal gangs breathing down on their necks. Or claiming ownership of all the street vendors in a part of town. You keep referring to El Salvador not being the USA and to macro economics but that really has little impact on the day to day living of these poorer citizens of poorer countries who often get left behind by the powers the be. Yet find a way to get by without murdering people or stealing from them violently. These criminals gangs who got locked up, they were no Robin Hoods and if there was an absence of wealthier people to go after they'd go after the poor who were barely getting by. Thus even the humble street vendor is glad to see them gone because it's removed a lot of the fear factor from their day to day life.
4
@raidermaxx2324 Poverty is a factor of course but you have to understand that wealth gained from international markets is fickle and can be lost at the stroke of a pen. It's a false friend to assume all that wealth could simply be re-appropriated and redistributed in a more equitable manner. Though if it were the case that would be nice its not how the process of wealth creation and manipulation works in the globalised world of modern capitalism that is directed by interests of elites. They hold all the cards so to speak and will play cards against you if you don't play ball with them. Plus the super rich of these companies are mostly shielded from the worst excesses of the gangs. It's the common people scrabbling to make a living that get the worse of it. These criminals as mentioned are bad dudes that put ultra violence on a pedestal. They are not robin hoods that one can be sympathetic to. Though that kind of criminal does still exist in countries less tainted by the Narco gang culture. Still, i can see that you're looking at things through a left wing lens and have the best of intentions but we can have no meaningful improvement to day to day living when under the shadow of ultra violent gangs that came out of the drug war. Ending the drug war and legalizing all drugs could be part of a less violent broader strategy that would have to be undertaken by coalition of nations. The taxes could go towards supporting communities and educating them of the dangers of substance abuse. But it's all pie in the sky and would take ages to come to a meaningful international agreement if it ever even were to happen. The common people required help and have the right to not live in fear.
3
@raidermaxx2324 You'd be surprised how often people try to get by in poorer countries just by selling food on the street or finding a way to trade clothing which may or may not be from the back of a lorry or a dubious source. Even they were victims of crime and would get shaked down for protection. But one of the negative effects in Chile where I live is that the amount of robbery going on now (which is getting more violent and brazen) has caused larger businesses to increase prices due to high insurance premiums because of how often the robbery happens. The costs then get passed on to consumers trying to buy products on increasingly sparse budgets, it also affects the companies ability to pay taxes and to increase or pay wages. Leading to the worst case scenario that the shop merely closes down and ceases to operate creating a desert for such product/service where once it was available. And exacerbating unemployment.
1