Tweet of the Day- Arming the Schools

On CNN's State of the Union, U.S. Representative Dan Crenshaw of Texas was asked by Dana Bash about school shootings and replied

... because it's so random and unexpected, it's hard to prevent.

And because -- and they seem like they happen a lot, but they're still anomalous events, and they're very difficult to build a pattern behind. It's not like criminal activity, which you can target and prevent through law enforcement. This is harder. It doesn't mean there's nothing we can do.

The truth of the matter is, if we had a minimum of two armed guards or police officers at every single school in America, you would probably prevent these from here on out.

There are good responses, very good responses, and then there is this:

How much are you going to pay for ongoing firearms and tactical training?

A $40k salary (lowball, but hey it’s just our kids) alone costs $10.4 BILLION. https://t.co/qvLgp2wmUM

— Pete Strzok (@petestrzok) April 2, 2023

To give Crenshaw his due, he adds the qualifier "probably"- but that still does a lot of work here. We know only that the percentage of shootings which would be prevented with a minimum of two armed guards or police officers in every school is somewhere between 0 and 100.

Strzok reminds us of the financial cost, which would be extremely high and is an underrated factor in the conversation. Acknowledging it is lowball, Strzok puts the salary cost at $40,000, which could not even be approximated if they were police officers.  

Crenshaw's idea is, admittedly, much better than the harebrained scheme of arming teachers. Still, whatever the effectiveness of armed guards/police officers, it would be extraordinarily expensive. 

Maybe Democrats should call the bluff of Republicans and submit a bill to arm schools as Representative Crenshaw and a few other conservatives have advocated.  Propose that the cost be borne by an increase in the capital gains tax and a surtax on income above a certain level, perhaps $1,000,000, more or less in consideration of how much revenue would be necessary to pay armed guards or police officers handsomely. 

In his interview with Bash, the Texas congressman stated "I think we should look at our school as a place that is precious and have the same kind of security that your corporate offices do, that we do in Congress."  Democrats can give Republicans a chance to prove that the life of children is as important to them as maintaining the wealth and influence of the very wealthy. It never has been, and I think we all know how that would turn out even now.

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