The Social Acceptability of White Collar Crime in the United States

Social Acceptability of White-Collar Crime

White-Collar Crime has been recognized as an issue since 1939, when it was brought up
in a political meeting by a professor of sociology Edwin Sutherland (FBI 2016). He insisted on
corporate crime offenders who have been treated fairer compared to violent street crimes. White-
collar crimes were somewhat unknown to many people, especially during the world war era in
1939. The US citizen's attention was highly pivoted on trivial crimes while crimes of the
corporate class were easily unnoticed. These crimes have, however, parachuted as technology
has been evolving. Such crimes include fraud, Ponzi scheme, espionage, money laundering, tax
evasion and embezzlement. White-collar crime has cost the US an economic loss estimated at
$250 billion to $1 trillion annually (Martinez,2014).
Additionally, most white-collar crimes go unnoticed since they are less prone to violence
and physical pressure. Those notices are on deaf ears, for they are either unreported or scrapped
off. Blue-collar crimes are easily manned by police officers who target workers in relatively
unskilled environments. Take your time, and let's tour through various perspectives of the social
acceptability of white-collar crimes in the United States. White-collar criminals are taken as
more socially acceptable in the following ways:
White-collar crime victims are considered unpunished criminals by many enlightened
individuals. More attention is geared toward street crimes than the white-collar corporate crimes
in the country. It is common to find justice served better on a fraudulent criminal or an
embezzlement star than a street criminal on a shop theft. In the event of justice, there is a huge
difference in how those crimes are conducted; for instance, the federal crew has to conduct a lot
of intensive investigation. It is not new dawn to find that the crimes end up without justice due to
lack of evidence. In addition, corporate criminals are always backed up by very powerful
lawyers. The involved parties highly pay these lawyers to represent them in courts. It is the legal
duty to defend their victims to ensure they receive no penalties, reduce their punishment or be
released on bail terms.
White-collar crimes are known to bring major economic catastrophe in the US. The FBI
has recorded devastating reports of families who had their lives bent instantly. Companies will
be brought down overnight as all savings are siphoned within an eye. Similarly, a major loss in a
company is experienced when the fraudsters conduct a single money heist getting away with
millions of bucks. White-collar criminals wreak havoc on the finances of the United States
(Friedrichs, 2009). These crimes directly impact individuals who have been victimized as well
the entire economy of the country. White-collar criminals are individuals of diligence and
cognitive prowess who hold corporate business positions. A single shot by such criminals would
cost the country huge economic blows affecting the supply of resources to its citizens.
Planned bank fraud may render banks closing down, leading to slowed transactions and
thus public unrest by account owners. The above statement is connected to a case study of the
Lehman brothers (Mamudi, 2008). The brothers are notoriously famous for leading a company
bankrupt using a single scam that brainwashed editors and other senior executives in their
company. The company was the fourth-largest company in the US when it fell out of place. It
was such an embarrassment as employees from all levels of workers walked out in public and
headed to their homes jobless. The company lost billions of money both in assets and liabilities;
all brought about by embezzlement within its operations. The company had been alive, active
and thriving for a very long time. It had surpassed many economic crises that led to great
companies' failure, especially during the world war. It was unfortunate that it only fell in 2008 on
white-collar crimes. The government did not bother to prosecute or even apprehend the Lehman
brothers for their openly committed crime. The case was rested and packed in the abyss of no
return.
It is important to share some food for thought that crimes committed in a corporate
setting may hinder more harm to the society since some social traits will be broken down. A
social aspect is lost when practices like scams happen in a given company, like a loss of trust.
Some behaviors that incorporate companies may not be prohibited but may bring adverse effects
on other individuals within or without the company (Payne,<