The freakonomics of McDonalds vs. drugs | Steven Levitt

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  • Опубліковано 26 вер 2024
  • www.ted.com Freakonomics author Steven Levitt presents new data on the finances of drug dealing. Contrary to popular myth, he says, being a street-corner crack dealer isnt lucrative: It pays below minimum wage. And your boss can kill you.
    TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers are invited to give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes -- including speakers such as Jill Bolte Taylor, Sir Ken Robinson, Hans Rosling, Al Gore and Arthur Benjamin. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, and Design, and TEDTalks cover these topics as well as science, business, politics and the arts. Watch the Top 10 TEDTalks on TED.com, at
    www.ted.com/ind...

КОМЕНТАРІ • 1,9 тис.

  • @Smurfilton
    @Smurfilton 5 років тому +1348

    Why is this recommended to me just now.. anyone else?

    • @emilyyork154
      @emilyyork154 5 років тому +9

      Just now ??? weird

    • @Farmhouse1986
      @Farmhouse1986 5 років тому +26

      Same here, I thought it was odd myself

    • @printeh
      @printeh 5 років тому +19

      Same here. 12 year old video

    • @bradypats1
      @bradypats1 5 років тому +8

      algorithm waits a week to cache data and pukes recs on a Sunday (....?)

    • @TeceraOfficial
      @TeceraOfficial 5 років тому +4

      Same, but I'm also an econ major, so....

  • @macnolds4145
    @macnolds4145 6 років тому +87

    A great lecture once you get past the uncommonly low resolution. You've got so many intriguing elements: the risk the co-author took by trying to infiltrate the gang, the surprising bond he formed after proving himself to be vigilant and fearless, the sympathy the authors have for the kids who feel compelled to join gangs for the $, the economic lessons learned from gang finances, and so on.
    Fascinating.

    • @pre-packaged_9692
      @pre-packaged_9692 5 років тому +4

      Are people really not able to watch this because of the resolution? That seems crazy! but idk

    • @jimbojones8208
      @jimbojones8208 5 років тому +1

      It's actually quite common, the low resolution.

  • @anuragvdo
    @anuragvdo 9 років тому +2061

    Sweet times when TED talks had substance.

    • @jerrson9020
      @jerrson9020 8 років тому +2

      lol )

    • @richl9268
      @richl9268 8 років тому +16

      +Anurag Sharma So true my man. So true.

    • @HToothrot
      @HToothrot 7 років тому +12

      Preach brother

    • @addi9890
      @addi9890 7 років тому +2

      Anurag Sharma true but the speakers aren't as good.

    • @JesterMasque
      @JesterMasque 7 років тому +109

      Back when the content mattered more than the delivery of the speech..

  • @adamknowles1
    @adamknowles1 5 років тому +450

    Talking about the eighties while dressed as the nineties on a platform in the 2000’s

  • @joosewv
    @joosewv 7 років тому +503

    Boy that n-bomb at the end would have caused a stir in 2017. Still, I wish my econ books had had those gang member explanations for economic theories, they were fantastic!

    • @jasondashney
      @jasondashney 6 років тому +40

      Every once in a while someone will explain a complicated concept in the simplest of terms and it flips the switch for people. A.A. Milne, the Winnie the Pooh writer was genius at it.

    • @Fingolfin3423
      @Fingolfin3423 5 років тому +45

      The rabid SJWs of our time would destroy Steve for saying that nowadays. He would be called a racist, intolerant, insensitive, the list goes.

    • @clayhackney3514
      @clayhackney3514 5 років тому +22

      That hard ER hahaha

    • @hoboz4
      @hoboz4 5 років тому +17

      @@clayhackney3514 ngl, he probably quoted that wrong.

    • @tcrstowing555
      @tcrstowing555 5 років тому +14

      Rather deal with a SJW then a bullet at Walmart👀

  • @Thingsandcosas
    @Thingsandcosas 11 років тому +120

    When he describes the gang leaders having gold plated jewelry and leased cars, it reminds me of the point of celebrities to encourage the general population into debt.

    • @sohoyankee66
      @sohoyankee66 6 років тому +11

      SaraHeartsGirls Only the fools fall for that.

    • @onusgumboot5565
      @onusgumboot5565 6 років тому +15

      soho yankee- yeah, but there's a lot of fools out there

    • @agamerjourney9146
      @agamerjourney9146 4 роки тому +3

      So true

    • @GalacticGuru42
      @GalacticGuru42 3 роки тому +5

      @@pashadyne In the middle ages, that was the role of religion.

    • @saitodosan9377
      @saitodosan9377 3 роки тому +3

      ​@@GalacticGuru42 Not necessarily. Please pick up a book and try to actually learn something instead of mindlessly parroting what you hear on Reddit.

  • @InnocenceExperience
    @InnocenceExperience 12 років тому +33

    In the Freakonomics book, there's a whole other story about how they came to keep financial records. Some graduate (business, I think) became a gang member and started keeping books for the gang. He ended up in a really high position. The gangs had a really organised hierarchy too, with different ranks and benefits etc. It was like a corporation.

  • @TooLooze
    @TooLooze 5 років тому +31

    I saw this twelve years after it was released. It was worth the wait.

  • @giantspider100
    @giantspider100 5 років тому +121

    UA-cam recommendations be like:
    2007-2018: nope
    2019: yup

  • @ozzie069ma
    @ozzie069ma 9 років тому +225

    Just finished the book. One of the most amazing things I have EVER read.

    • @1OverWeightDragons
      @1OverWeightDragons 7 років тому +1

      which book?

    • @elemenopycuaress7454
      @elemenopycuaress7454 7 років тому +32

      Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner. A very interesting study in how statistics can be analysed to give us a greater understanding of our societal issues and how to solve them. Sounds a little stale, right? It's fascinating, entertaining and captivating.

    • @zeddiculous9052
      @zeddiculous9052 7 років тому +1

      +Jack Jameson how can you read his comment if you can't read?

    • @thugnomics123
      @thugnomics123 7 років тому +3

      Late to the party, but i just finished it and came back here to see this again. Absolutely amazing book.

  • @DarthCalculus
    @DarthCalculus 7 років тому +345

    The ad at the beginning of this video when I watched it was for McDonald's

  • @DL-fy5yr
    @DL-fy5yr 5 років тому +93

    UA-cam recommendations is clearly broken, but i really enjoyed his presentation.

    • @plawso
      @plawso 5 років тому +13

      you clicked on the video and enjoyed it. sounds like the recommendations are doing their job if you ask me

    • @frischifrisch6860
      @frischifrisch6860 5 років тому +1

      I noticed that some suggestions come in waves. Maybe in some weeks I see too many videos and /or my subscriptions are too messy ... many videos that I saw years ago are being proposed to me again and my thumb is gone too.
      I noticed that this happens in times when I am interested in channels that I have not paid attention to for some time and spend a lot of time on UA-cam at the same time.
      This always strikes me when I watch a couple of videos about US news or politics. I guess the algorithm would like to re-evaluate me and maybe learn what I like to see on UA-cam.
      However, after a while, because I'm not interested in news abroad every day, the algorithm has forgotten everything again. (Sorry, being lazy here, it's google translated ;-)

    • @DL-fy5yr
      @DL-fy5yr 5 років тому

      @@plawso lol, good point.

    • @frischifrisch6860
      @frischifrisch6860 5 років тому

      @Liam Mackenny have you tried:
      trackthis.link/
      where you can choose an alter ego and ads will be altered ... quite funny ... and scary ;-)

    • @renegadezen7841
      @renegadezen7841 26 днів тому

      UA-cam algorithm is never broken. Its created, managed and maintained by a trillion dollar company ​@@DL-fy5yr

  • @NotTheWheel
    @NotTheWheel 5 років тому +196

    Bill Gates twin brother sure knows a lot about the Drug Game.

    • @joshmayne2853
      @joshmayne2853 5 років тому +1

      a pimps love is very different than that of a square

    • @bigtimepimpin666
      @bigtimepimpin666 5 років тому

      @@joshmayne2853 it's a fascinating world none the less... awesome reference.

  • @aaronbono4688
    @aaronbono4688 8 років тому +289

    I like his final conclusion. It speaks volumes as to why the people at the bottom of the corporate structure keep supporting / promoting all that money going to the top while they are shat upon - they look up and think "that could be me." They project themselves upon the fat cats at the top. And with that projection, they would never want to cut the pay or bonuses or increase taxes of those at the top even though that would make life better for those at the bottom.

    • @greimalkin
      @greimalkin 8 років тому +17

      no it's because they don't know any better. I worked briefly at a place where they cut everybody's pensions because they said that they didn't make enough money. But plenty of money had been made it was just that they didn't want to pay people for some reason

    • @jonc8074
      @jonc8074 7 років тому +24

      Any pay or taxes higher than zero is bad for business. Slavery, prison labor and automation, temporary employment and cut everyone's healthcare are what the business community is up to.

    • @aaronbono4688
      @aaronbono4688 7 років тому +36

      Jon Chin Actually, taxes can be great for business. Taxes pay for roads and airports, for telephone and internet infrastructure, for law enforcement and fire departments. Taxes pay for education which businesses need in order to have capable employees. Taxes take money out of the hands of those with abundance and dole it out mostly as jobs to government workers and to contractors (i.e. businesses) helping to move money around the system and thus stoking the economic engine which means more people buying and thus more business. The list goes on. Anyone who claims to be a "self made" business person is ignoring all this infrastructure that has been given to them - they are not self made, they just took the initiative to turn these government backed programs and make good on them. That is great, they did well, but they did it on the back of a healthy infrastructure that was built by tax dollars for their benefit and their taxes are their contribution back into this system to help continue strengthening the system for the future. The propaganda from the rich has warped peoples' minds to think that taxes are all bad but this is not so. If you want to learn more, check out the book "Born on Third Base" by Chuck Collins: books.google.com/books/about/Born_on_Third_Base.html?id=FEcDDQAAQBAJ&source=kp_cover&hl=en

    • @Mario-sy4nw
      @Mario-sy4nw 7 років тому +12

      I agree, it's a shared environment. Obama got skewered for saying, "you didn't build that" because he's left of center and a neo-Keynsian. But someone in America needs to find a balancing point and clearly articulate what is the exact role of government in our modern society without being socialist. I dont mind paying taxes if I can see that infrastructure is actually being built but unfortunately too many taxes are punitive or the $ just vanishes. Keynes v Hayek, it's time for neo-Hayek-ianism.

    • @erichiguera
      @erichiguera 7 років тому +7

      businesses hate paying taxes because all they care about is making the most money possible at any cost. of course taxes means infrastructure, which helps business. but that doesn't change the fact that tons of wealthy people want to lower taxes and make government smaller, just so that they and their companies can make more money.

  • @AdemSemir
    @AdemSemir 10 років тому +612

    Hey TED, would it be possible for you to reupload these in HD or at least 360p or 480p

    • @TheRealSandorClegane
      @TheRealSandorClegane 10 років тому +275

      you don't need to see the freckles on his dick just listen to what he's saying.

    • @Buckets41369
      @Buckets41369 10 років тому +57

      walter white how about reading the presentation

    • @RobertDigitalArtist
      @RobertDigitalArtist 10 років тому +10

      ***** Apple fan boys be trollin' like only Apple fan boys do.

    • @nedisahonkey
      @nedisahonkey 7 років тому +7

      Tom Just read his book.

    • @Buckets41369
      @Buckets41369 7 років тому +4

      no

  • @evelynwaugh4053
    @evelynwaugh4053 5 років тому +33

    Anyone interested in the sociological perspective, as opposed to an economist's, might be interested in Sudhir Venkatesh's Gang Leader For a Day which goes into much greater detail of Sudhir's experiences with the group.

  • @MrDuffy81
    @MrDuffy81 16 років тому +9

    I really appreciate his intellectual humor.
    He is a GREAT stort-teller.

  • @tendrams
    @tendrams 5 років тому +73

    "Can't get rich selling marijuana"....Boy, times have changed. LOL!

    • @RelativeBadger
      @RelativeBadger 3 роки тому +10

      still can't

    • @greatbingus
      @greatbingus 3 роки тому +7

      California just had to give a $100million bailout to the marijuana industry, yes how times have changed indeed, lol, indeed.

    • @AngelPerezComedy
      @AngelPerezComedy 3 роки тому +1

      @@RelativeBadger not true. Get it cheap enough and move alot.n

    • @ballsdeep9400
      @ballsdeep9400 2 роки тому +5

      @@AngelPerezComedy Lol good weed aint cheap and cheap weed aint good, only the growers really making money

    • @ballsdeep9400
      @ballsdeep9400 2 роки тому +1

      He's right, i think you mean you can get RICHER but you'd already need a ton of money to actually become rich with weed, all the big weed companys are owned by big companies keeping it lowkey

  • @OfAngelsAndAnarchist
    @OfAngelsAndAnarchist 7 років тому +302

    Whoaaaaaaaaa Ted Talks used to be REAL??
    No way man this is so good
    This isn't Ted Talks...
    I actually feel a little more enlightened. Genuinely. Whoa.

    • @jasondashney
      @jasondashney 6 років тому +12

      Listen to the Freakonomics podcast this guy and his partner (okay, mostly his partner) does. It's this type of analysis every episode.

    • @Freezo90967
      @Freezo90967 5 років тому +10

      Ted himself was actively involved back then...
      edit:Thank you for the likes 2 strangers...

  • @ste9474
    @ste9474 5 років тому +17

    "Has never been shared.... until now"
    Published on 16 Jan 2007

    • @SlinkiestTortoise23
      @SlinkiestTortoise23 5 років тому

      Ste Richards UA-cam algorithm has been going a bit bonkers lately

  • @tr1co0
    @tr1co0 5 років тому +71

    The amount of laughter this audience reacted with to him using the vernacular of the gang members is telling...

    • @bo8504
      @bo8504 5 років тому +2

      My thoughts exactly.

    • @dddmemaybe
      @dddmemaybe 5 років тому +1

      Humor never changes lol.

    • @Lishkabro
      @Lishkabro 5 років тому +2

      Telling of what?

    • @kidacrimson1204
      @kidacrimson1204 5 років тому +10

      @@Lishkabro, extreme white privilege. This is Monterrey, CA after all.

    • @BirdUpFR
      @BirdUpFR 5 років тому +11

      It's juxtaposition, he's purposefully making it humorous

  • @criticalbit8230
    @criticalbit8230 5 років тому +11

    I have no idea why this showed up in my feed, but it was fantastic.

  • @justinhall3073
    @justinhall3073 10 років тому +56

    The term "real world" is used abundantly. When I was active duty we called mainstream America the "real world" and when I was is college we did the same. I don't believe his intention was to discount the struggle of their lifestyle but to relay to the audience that it was an entirely different lifestyle.

  • @Sihengli
    @Sihengli 7 років тому +7

    that ad at the end was actually clever... look at how the companies perceive us now...

  • @adamwalsh5768
    @adamwalsh5768 10 років тому +19

    This is one of my favorite TED talks that I've seen.

    • @PhillipBlanton
      @PhillipBlanton 5 років тому

      This is mine: ua-cam.com/video/Gj8IA6xOpSk/v-deo.html

  • @thehorizontries4759
    @thehorizontries4759 5 років тому +85

    Back when a sufficient warning of adult content at the beginning meant that everyone just agreed that anything could be said and they wouldn't try to ruin your life for saying the n word.

    • @manicmandownup
      @manicmandownup 5 років тому +11

      Really, that’s what you got out of this? He quoted someone...what need would you have to use such a vulgarity?

    • @ilive41
      @ilive41 5 років тому +8

      manicmandownup bipolar 1- there’s never a time to utter such a thing so casually. He doesn’t get to. He did and he shouldn’t have.

    • @manicmandownup
      @manicmandownup 5 років тому +2

      Austin Earley good point

    • @wessturdevant6260
      @wessturdevant6260 5 років тому +13

      If he’s quoting someone and not using the word viciously or maliciously quit crying about it. It’s dumb dumb, SJWs like you all that turn nothing into a catastrophic event...for real QUIT CRYING SNOWFLAKES.

    • @birrymays
      @birrymays 4 роки тому

      I doubt he used the hard R in the real quote

  • @Valchee9192631770
    @Valchee9192631770 5 років тому +4

    I'm was supposed to be studying corporate finance when I was watching this. I later realized our professor told us to read Freconomics. I had written this in my notes and forgot about it. I guess I was procrastinating and studying at the same time.

  • @ctakitimu
    @ctakitimu 5 років тому +43

    Loved his and Stephens book 'freakonomics' and 'how to rob a bank'. These guys rock and make economists sound cool

  • @jackmiddleton2080
    @jackmiddleton2080 5 років тому +52

    Pretty much every competitive environment operates on that last quote from the drug dealer.

    • @ghostnoodle9721
      @ghostnoodle9721 5 років тому +3

      Jack Middleton Selling anything is business
      Source: I was the middle school paper fortune teller dealer
      First ones free, colored paper is 5 cents extra

    • @Jack-Spark
      @Jack-Spark 5 років тому

      Very True

  • @empowermph
    @empowermph 12 років тому +1

    Slightly prejudice angle, but generally correct. He elaborates the topics to be entertaining and clever, which leads people astray from the facts.
    I have childhood friends whove climbed the drug ladder, and in the initial stages, they still live with mom for the same reason college kids returning home do, but with a twist.
    #1 no credit + laundering law = cant rent/buy anything nice under real name, yet. This raises suspicions.
    #2 building aliases + carefully saving up for real estate / auto.

  • @BKLYNTURK1975
    @BKLYNTURK1975 5 років тому +3

    I put 4 kids thru college as a dealer, the product literally sells itself as long as you don’t mess with its quality.

  • @terrencebennett6742
    @terrencebennett6742 7 років тому +67

    Is this guy still CEO @ Pied Piper?

    • @Terra101
      @Terra101 7 років тому +3

      For Microsoft you mean?

    • @KasaiLifeTV
      @KasaiLifeTV 7 років тому

      Terrence Bennett lolol

    • @Warkenshin
      @Warkenshin 7 років тому +1

      Terrence Bennett came to see this answer and was no disappointed!

  • @jkohutiak
    @jkohutiak 8 років тому +6

    man this has to be the best TED ive seen!

    • @lutze5086
      @lutze5086 7 років тому +2

      peter griffin 8 minutes in and its trash

  • @DoctorSwagatron
    @DoctorSwagatron 6 років тому +16

    Ah- 2004 TED talks. Watching in high quality 240 p

  • @nativegerry335
    @nativegerry335 10 років тому +365

    Mcdonalds and drug dealing; two most popular jobs for teenagers nowadays

    • @VladimirMorar
      @VladimirMorar 9 років тому +12

      Would you please get off the internet?

    • @TheBSishere
      @TheBSishere 7 років тому +16

      I knew people at Mac Don's that did both.

    • @Getemrightworldwide
      @Getemrightworldwide 6 років тому +3

      You must not have been working hard as a teen.

    • @sohoyankee66
      @sohoyankee66 6 років тому +6

      My brother flipped burgers at McD’s for several years. Now he’s a chief Medical Examiner. I used to work at Dunkin Donuts now I’m a scientist. Neither one of us ever dealt or used drugs. Not too shabby. Eh?

    • @BennieBrunink
      @BennieBrunink 6 років тому

      The should rename MD the Shabby shack ..

  • @jayshepherd8562
    @jayshepherd8562 7 років тому +98

    He reminds me of Richard from Silicon Valley...

    • @digdugheynow3965
      @digdugheynow3965 6 років тому +2

      HA!

    • @chambleton702
      @chambleton702 5 років тому +1

      i thought it was him till mid way thru

    • @raidenwave4219
      @raidenwave4219 5 років тому +1

      exactly, all the way even the way he speaks... the actor playing Richard maybe used him as an inspiration for the role...

  • @acovarrubias12
    @acovarrubias12 5 років тому +3

    its so rare to find a good tedtalk nowadays

    • @colinkeyes2054
      @colinkeyes2054 5 років тому +3

      acovarrubias12 I signed up for TED emails and every week I get berated with nonsense about what we can do to close the wage gap and why white people are ruining the earth.

    • @user-gu1hl2kx2k
      @user-gu1hl2kx2k 5 років тому

      look at how trump is telling the US to burn more coal.

    • @thetechlibrarian
      @thetechlibrarian 5 років тому

      a white people are not ruining the earth. If anything it’s the elites. Don’t group everyone together

  • @jamesbyerly766
    @jamesbyerly766 5 років тому +7

    Freakonomics was a great book. I know a lot of research went into it, but I'd love to read more just like it.

    • @ceruchi2084
      @ceruchi2084 5 років тому +2

      There are two sequels!

  • @davebryan8416
    @davebryan8416 9 років тому +87

    Thomas Middleditch?

  • @spasticdeadeyedhound1321
    @spasticdeadeyedhound1321 8 років тому +18

    He mentions his friends got shut out in Silicon Valley, well I hope they stuck around because there were some big things going on in the area right about the time of this presentation.

    • @phuckyoo8443
      @phuckyoo8443 6 років тому +10

      dont worry he started pied piper soon after

  • @stephangruhne3958
    @stephangruhne3958 5 років тому +20

    Hey, I'd like to thank the Authors of the Subtitles. I feel they are never mentioned.

  • @Fear_the_Nog
    @Fear_the_Nog 12 років тому +1

    we don't get paid for any specific brand of drug. we get paid for treatments provided. yes, prescription drugs need doctors to sign off on their distribution, but we could care less about the profit that comes from any such distribution (your average doctor, not the ones with stocks in a drug company). The OP suggested we are drug "dealers." We are as much drug dealers as we are wheelchair/prosthesis/cast/braces/lenses/exercise-rehab-plan dealers.

  • @markschiavone8003
    @markschiavone8003 5 років тому +11

    UA-cam, why am I just hearing about this now?

  • @hatetechstuff
    @hatetechstuff 12 років тому

    What a staunchy opening statement.
    And how many people looked at the view count and thought 'I wonder how many crack dealers living with their moms clicked on this to find out how to get out of their house and be more profitable'..? Just me?

  • @crazycutz8072
    @crazycutz8072 5 років тому +50

    Tarantino is taking notes to his next movie... " did you know that we get lower wages then a MacD employee".. :D

    • @shawbros
      @shawbros 5 років тому +1

      "lower wages then"
      than

  • @mozkitolife5437
    @mozkitolife5437 11 років тому +2

    After reading Freakonomics I wondered what Steven looked like but didn't know. After seeing him here he's exactly what I imagined.

  • @acanarynamedrobyn4543
    @acanarynamedrobyn4543 5 років тому +50

    he didn’t say “the N word” he repeated a quotation from another person that said it. in the immortal words of Joan Rivers... “oh, grow up!”

  • @andrewryan2814
    @andrewryan2814 5 років тому +3

    In stand up comedy they call that last 45 seconds a "great closer"

  • @eddycurrent413
    @eddycurrent413 5 років тому +14

    This guy really gets it. He must have been a hopper in a corner somewhere.

  • @PinoyPadyakero
    @PinoyPadyakero 8 років тому +31

    This is similar to corporate world and in MLM

    • @evilresidence4
      @evilresidence4 6 років тому +3

      Marxism Leninism Maoism?

    • @farribastarfyre
      @farribastarfyre 6 років тому +3

      Holodomor [ASMR]
      MLM stands for multi-level marketing. I think the easiest way to describe it would be to simply say that it's basically a pyramid scheme and leave it at that. Although, I've been watching some videos about r/antimlm recently, and one of them has an intro that breaks it down perfectly. Here you go...
      ua-cam.com/video/5ivEPxskIzk/v-deo.html

    • @user-sw1wq8lh2w
      @user-sw1wq8lh2w 5 років тому

      it's all a pyramid

  • @pathutchison9866
    @pathutchison9866 5 років тому +11

    15 minutes? That some good crack. 5 min tops

  • @adolfoforonda3363
    @adolfoforonda3363 4 місяці тому

    One of the best TED talks ever.

  • @Alorand
    @Alorand 5 років тому +7

    This video just won the UA-cam Algorithm Lottery.
    Nobody in 2019:
    UA-cam Algorithm: You get a recommendation, and you get a recommendation.
    Everyone gets a recommendation!

  • @MarK-iw2xj
    @MarK-iw2xj 5 років тому +2

    This was phenomenal!
    Very very informative.

  • @elativeful
    @elativeful 11 років тому +9

    contexually it is presented as a joke- likely because it is an awkward subject, but yeah I agree with you. There is an a perpetuation of the feeling of an "other," and that is not benificial.

  • @amandarecoveryjones8216
    @amandarecoveryjones8216 6 років тому

    WOW! Throwback TED talks??!?! Beautiful!

  • @Hcfungfuikbgdhhh
    @Hcfungfuikbgdhhh 11 років тому +3

    The entire purpose of the talk was to demonstrate that, A. Drug dealers don't make a good living, and B. Why it is still rational. This study illuminates the difficulty of inner-city living and helps to show that it may not be simply be the residents fault. Of course, a few feelings were hurt along the way (not the least of which are yours), but presumably, the implications of the study are more important than your hurt feelings.

  • @RedCloudBeechWaveAhh
    @RedCloudBeechWaveAhh 6 років тому +1

    The thing that shocks me more than anything else in the video, is the laughter - the quality reminds me of mild amusement, laughing at something very distant. Is that just me? The interpretation that comes to mind first is that they see black folks as the Other, not as "the same but different," separate, people from another world. Gang member is a subset of that group. So there's a lack of empathy, and the spirit of the talk is light-hearted. I may be adding my own interpretation to this, but I am sure, at least, that the speaker and his audience are somewhat detached and not expressing deep concern or feeling great pain for those reverted to in the talk.
    What is that about?

    • @jessicacole8404
      @jessicacole8404 5 років тому

      *they were a bunch of rich white people back in 2003. Of course they were unempathetic*

    • @chickenfishhybrid44
      @chickenfishhybrid44 14 хвилин тому

      It's not that deep. They're laughing because a nerdy white guy is saying these things

  • @NiftyShifty1
    @NiftyShifty1 5 років тому +28

    Ahhh 240p. We meet again

  • @simplehomeschoolideas
    @simplehomeschoolideas 8 днів тому

    I love that no one laughed when he compared the gang to McDonalds 😂 It signals that the audience were not surprised by this 🤣

  • @MrBignick88
    @MrBignick88 7 років тому +14

    i wasn't a gang member when i grew up but i had just as many guns waved in my face when i worked at 711 and to a teenager they are going to want a lot more money to do a job like i had so if they are going to be shot at may as well sell drugs a lot of co workers saw things this way but the problem in america is that police are under educated for the job they hold they should spend 3 years in the police academy that is why local and metro cops need to be abolished and state forces take over the job fines should be uniform so someone who has the misfortune of a broken tail light only gets fined once instead of 4 times on a single commute home

    • @SmashPortal
      @SmashPortal 7 років тому +5

      You used one punctuation mark in your entire run-on sentence.

    • @MrBignick88
      @MrBignick88 7 років тому +18

      Smash if i had a better education do you think i would work at 711

    • @xXxBLINGO07xXx
      @xXxBLINGO07xXx 7 років тому +2

      Smash looked like a paragraph to me.

  • @Jefferdaughter
    @Jefferdaughter 11 років тому

    It's not '#1' - it's at the top because it is 'featured'. UA-cam says, "Featured Videos are not advertisements or paid placements, BUT DO feature content from partners with whom we have a commercial relationship." (Emphasis mine.) Operative words in this sentance: 'commercial relationship'.

  • @djdrocco
    @djdrocco 11 років тому +7

    Cultural and economic restrictions do play an exaggerated role in the choices of poor, inner-city youths. Someone who has never had appropriate behavior modeled for them is unlikely to have any idea how to behave appropriately. Understanding the factors in a bad situation is not the same thing as condoning that situation.

  • @alanguile8945
    @alanguile8945 5 років тому +2

    Great video, and no idea why this is being recommended now!

  • @Boredperson360
    @Boredperson360 5 років тому +36

    Im gonna reverse his statement: why is mcdonals such a crappy job that you have to moonlight as a drug dealer?

    • @JDines
      @JDines 5 років тому +9

      The smart ones have a job so the IRS and local cops don't question how you have things that cost money, and it gives them an opportunity to network and increase their customer base.

    • @evanpc7002
      @evanpc7002 5 років тому +2

      It’s fun you get to have guns and you have a feeling of power in a gang

    • @Boredperson360
      @Boredperson360 5 років тому +2

      @K W Who makes an entire buisiness model on child labour?

    • @CHRISSMITH-hj6sx
      @CHRISSMITH-hj6sx 5 років тому +3

      @@Boredperson360 nike

    • @CHRISSMITH-hj6sx
      @CHRISSMITH-hj6sx 5 років тому +1

      @@Boredperson360 and every other corporation?

  • @johnfajer7691
    @johnfajer7691 5 років тому +2

    Jesus, FINE UA-cam, I'LL WATCH IT.

  • @MazinUrso
    @MazinUrso 8 місяців тому +5

    2024 watching this ? 🫣

  • @Hidegety1
    @Hidegety1 5 років тому +1

    refreshing oldtime TED

  • @pokealotasmot10
    @pokealotasmot10 12 років тому +5

    deffinantly one of the best TED talks ever. this was awesome! good to spread the word about some people who dont have it as good as everyone else

    • @89tin
      @89tin 3 роки тому

      The one with Ed O'Neil is pretty good. Check that out

  • @skrewgravity
    @skrewgravity 5 років тому +2

    Wow. I loved this.

  • @musicmnw1982
    @musicmnw1982 5 років тому +3

    Dang it! Will you guys over at TED please turn the intro music down?

  • @russellgillick7637
    @russellgillick7637 5 років тому +1

    I got a McDonald's $1 burger ad before I got to watch this.

  • @CheesyBakeOven
    @CheesyBakeOven 10 років тому +8

    i have such a crush on Steve Levitt!!

  • @robertyu7341
    @robertyu7341 10 днів тому

    This might have been recommended to me for having watched a bit of Ted talk, finance topics and some drug addicts living in Kenington.

  • @slaughtz
    @slaughtz 15 років тому +11

    That's a concept I never considered until you mentioned it and I'd like to thank you for sharing it. The very point of police is to protect community; and what else are these, what we call 'gangs' doing, other than protecting themselves and trying to get by? The U.S. was pretty much built for community; so it might just pose the question, should our communities, instead of putting away gangs, open opportunities for them? Understanding could be worth more than the general public gives credit.

    • @craigmason9893
      @craigmason9893 Рік тому

      It was not made for community or whatever. What???

  • @nashanlipscomb5883
    @nashanlipscomb5883 5 років тому +8

    I mentioned McDonald’s over the phone and this appeared

    • @pinkguy8205
      @pinkguy8205 5 років тому +2

      i just ordered some crack cocaine from amazon and this video showed up???

  • @jedfriedland1520
    @jedfriedland1520 5 років тому

    A delightful surprise. Well done and fascinating.

  • @davidhutchinson6377
    @davidhutchinson6377 10 років тому +5

    I don't know..he makes some valid points. But I have to say, Being from Baltimore...and working in clubs where gangs frequented, drugs were indeed profitable. And yeah, they paid the price, in more ways than just busts...I like Steven Levitt...he is a bright intelligent person..but a bit off base here. On some of the "facts".

  • @nonamesam
    @nonamesam 11 років тому +2

    To say that obesity is caused DIRECTLY by consuming McDonalds is extremely off base and disowns those who are obese of any wrongdoing on their part. I used to be obese 6 years ago, and then made a conscious effort on my part to lose weight because I realized it was my fault. I still love fast food, but have maintained a healthy body weight ever since.

  • @RealGame101
    @RealGame101 8 років тому +35

    Corporate America and it's double standard> We can sell drugs but dont you dare do it yourself! So just register yourself as a drug dealer and pay taxes then you are good. play by the rules until you get enough power to change them. real talk

    • @greoricm771
      @greoricm771 8 років тому +8

      Your problem is with government not Corporate America. Big business is just playing around the rules the government sets. Your objective should be to get government out of the drugs not corporations.

    • @RealGame101
      @RealGame101 8 років тому +4

      +Greoric M I can agree with that

    • @STEVENFRYFRY
      @STEVENFRYFRY 7 років тому +5

      lobbyists influence government policy, and they aren't working for the populace

    • @greoricm771
      @greoricm771 7 років тому +3

      Steven Fry
      The origin of corruption is first with government though. If they didn't have the influence to doll out favors then lobbyists wouldn't be lobbying them.

    • @STEVENFRYFRY
      @STEVENFRYFRY 7 років тому +2

      Greoric M True, ,lacking ethics and morality on both sides of the ballot

  • @crazydrifter13
    @crazydrifter13 11 днів тому +1

    Ok it's going viral again in 2024 (right now 😂. Anyone else getting this recommended randomly?

  • @steveducell2158
    @steveducell2158 7 років тому +15

    in a sense, it is a self defeating system. Even if you are on "the board of directors" and make 400,000 / yr. , one has no legitimate way to invest the earning and actually escape into a legal lifestyle.. Thus no upward mobility for those on the bottom.

    • @jasondashney
      @jasondashney 6 років тому +5

      You couldn't started a side business to launder the money, or purchased mortgages where you didn't have to provide documentation as to where you got the money, especially back then. Buying and renovating houses would've been the easiest way.

    • @jayeisenhardt1337
      @jayeisenhardt1337 6 років тому +5

      Same as prohibition, Italians went for the glory Jews became bankers. Guess who ended up dead and who retired? I'd take that 100,000 a few years and bounce.

    • @nnoffuture
      @nnoffuture 5 років тому +1

      False.

  • @shreder89
    @shreder89 7 років тому +5

    amazing to see how mcuh people´s perception of this have changed in a bunch of years. The comment section is full with recent comments about people being offended and triggered by this, its crazy

  • @LotusLetters
    @LotusLetters 4 роки тому +1

    Great lesson! I’m sure he enjoyed his research.

  • @AshPhoenix
    @AshPhoenix 7 років тому +7

    Fantastic speech

  • @morgengabe1
    @morgengabe1 7 років тому

    One of the best ted talks I've ever seen!

  • @GrimReefer
    @GrimReefer 11 років тому +3

    I think he may have said "powder cocaine"

  • @heavyguner3997
    @heavyguner3997 6 років тому

    "You couldn't really make any money selling marijuana, marijuanas too cheap actually" 11 years later 2017 total marijuana sales $1,507,702,219

  • @SunderBlue22
    @SunderBlue22 5 років тому +25

    In other words, corporations are gangs...

    • @Kosaro1234
      @Kosaro1234 5 років тому +5

      Or conversely that gangs are just another corporation

    • @pkatz80
      @pkatz80 5 років тому +5

      There's a certain tried and true structure to any efficient organisation. It doesn't matter if it's a company or a gang, and it doesn't really matter where the revenue comes from. That's just how the dominoes fall eventually, and not just under a Capitalist system. You had very similar structures in the USSR , with slightly different names for the roles, but the structures were there.

    • @Kosaro1234
      @Kosaro1234 5 років тому +1

      @@pkatz80 well said

    • @pre-packaged_9692
      @pre-packaged_9692 5 років тому

      Yes but they are able to kill way more people!

  • @acetate909
    @acetate909 6 років тому

    Please write another book Mr. Levitt

  • @spencerkay6131
    @spencerkay6131 5 років тому

    Drinking game: take a shot every time he says crack cocaine

  • @devilishcow999
    @devilishcow999 10 років тому +14

    gangstanomics 101

  • @drummaboi5879
    @drummaboi5879 5 років тому +2

    true in certain circumstances. crack hasnt been in, now if you selln heroin/feynt ur rich AF. business minds make over 200k depending on area

  • @mandypac2854
    @mandypac2854 11 років тому +10

    Impressed. Why was I not shown this in 6th grade?

  • @becausereasons41
    @becausereasons41 4 роки тому +2

    Needs to be on Joe Rogan!

  • @HTMLbrowser
    @HTMLbrowser 7 років тому +14

    This gets even more funny when you replace 'gang' with 'government' and 'gain' with 'taxes'.

  • @IANinALTONA
    @IANinALTONA 5 років тому +1

    Steve' wife needs to start telling him what to wear when he leaves the house in the morning...

  • @brianschermerhorn7294
    @brianschermerhorn7294 8 років тому +4

    I love Freakonomics, but when I pictured him when he said "I went inside the gang" it made me chuckle

  • @jamesforeman4368
    @jamesforeman4368 11 років тому

    Love the book. Nice to see the voice behind the curtain.

  • @josephwinter1621
    @josephwinter1621 11 років тому +4

    They laugh because crying would be inappropriate.