Clarksdale Mayor Chuck Espy, in a remark clearly born of frustration, said recently he is willing to spend up to $10,000 of his own money to help criminals move away from that nearby Delta city.
Espy said that if criminals don’t think they can turn around their lives in Clarksdale, he’d be glad to help them start fresh somewhere else.
It’s an understandable impulse, but in the big picture, it’s unworkable. If every city in the South did the same thing, they would simply be shuttling their problems amongst each other.
The mayor, to his credit, did add that he wants to focus on rehabilitation and intervention for lawbreakers, and that’s a far better plan of action.
The real challenge is finding productive employment for more people. Clarksdale and other towns that face crime problems would use their limited resources most wisely by figuring out how to teach job skills to rehabilitated criminals. If employment is unavailable, that’s when it would be time to move someplace where the job prospects are better.
