@1

For purposes of this comparison, the key difference between Scandanavia and the US is neither economic inequality nor ethnic/racial diversity.

The key difference is that Scandanavia has (somewhat) lower crime rates than the US.

Ansel would have us believe that they've got less crime because they've got fewer jails. Unfortunately, Ansel's ideology requires him to turn a blind eye to the problems with that idea.

So we should do as San Francisco which has a higher crime rate than Seattle? Stop spending 10 million a year on art projects and building mental health facilities would be a better start.

It's interesting to parallel how their mayor Ed is also siding with law enforcement (whom have a vested interest in jails) instead of the data (which favors tax-payers).

While I appreciate the fact that The Stranger is looking beyond our little world, I would like it if you took a look at a city that is much closer, and much more similar to ours. Vancouver, BC has a much better housing policy and a much better transit system than us. I don't know about their jails, but I can make a guess ...

Not that I object to early release and desperately needed mental health services, but what about those inmates still stuck in "unsafe and inhumane" conditions? It's not like the people already convicted and serving sentences will retroactively get these services instead of jail time...

Far different structural arrangements in Sweden and the Netherlands where they invest much more in their own people and possess a much stronger safety net to prevent most people who don't have a lot from falling into total destitution and a life of crime unlike The Charles Dickens States of America.

It's quite possible to simultaneously believe that young POC are better served by diversionary tactics, accountable police and better mental health services while also recognizing the reality that there are situations where young people will need to be incarcerated for a short period of time for their safety and that of society as a whole. Ansel and Sawant's hysterical sycophants would just prefer the reality where the 16 year old murderer is thrown in with adults at the main King County Jail rather than having their own facility geared towards their needs.

Actually @9, when you add up all the federal, state and local taxes and fees Americans pay for the meager services we get compared to most countries in the western Euro zone, especially Germany and Scandinavia, we pay almost as much as they do, and get a much worse deal. For example, it's no "bargain" to use jails as mental hospitals or pay as much for childcare per year as tuition at UW.