In chapter 3 of Freakonomics the authors discuss why drug dealers live with their moms. Their reason for this is that a drug cartel/gang works a lot like business or tournament. You begin at the bottom of the totem pole and slowly work your way up. However those that make the most money are only a select few at the top. Thus, the majority of the drug cartel receives only minimum cash payments from the cartel.
Several statistics that the authors use to support their thesis include revenues accrued by the gang (pg 97), total monthly nonwage costs (pg 98), net monthly profit accruing to leader (pg 99), and total monthly gang wages excluding leader (pg 100). These statistics are important because the first two indicate that the gang operates like a business. The last two show just how much a "foot soldier" receives and how much the leader receives. From the statistics it is clear that the leader receives an exorbitant amount of money while those at the bottom hardly receive anything. Thus, the majority of drug dealers live with their moms out of necessity.
I felt the statistics you chose were relevant to the author's thesis and I agree that the way the authors used the statistics helped to prove their idea that drug dealers still live with their mom.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that the cartel works kind of like a tournament. When you first start out there are a lot of people and there is a high chance that you will die/be eliminated. But as you go forward you are given more "glory" .
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