The China social credit thread got me thinking on this, and it is a subject I think about quite a bit. I have a gross misdemeanor conviction from 4 years ago. I've had numerous job offers and apartments fall through because of it.
Credit checks too are becoming more and more common for housing and employment. So basically if you have bad credit we don't want to help you try to get out if it. And if you have any kind of criminal conviction oh we also don't want to help you in any way put that behind you.
So you end up with a system that keeps people down essentially, forcing them to take shitty jobs if they can even get that, and live in a shitty neighborhood with a shitty landlord. Or worse, be jobless and homeless.
You can of course luck out on both the job and housing front but you're entirely dependent on someone giving you a chance. For a society that is supposed to pride itself on individual upward mobility, it seems odd that we put the fate of millions essentially into the generous hands of someone else who has to "give them a chance."
I feel like if someone has paid their dues for their crimes and are a free person, no one should be able to hold their past against them, as it will just keep people stuck with their past instead of allowing them to move forward.
On the credit front, I understand a low credit score can be a good predictor, but if someone can show you their income and have a good rental history and references, I don't see why a credit score should prevent someone from getting housing, and especially a job, as they need that job to improve their credit.
Background is treated as an automatic exclusionary force unless you find someone who is understanding. It shouldn't be that way.
I honestly think these systems already are essentially a social credit system in the US, with the result of extreme economic segregation that often falls along racial lines. I can't even imagine being a black person with a felony on their record.
Credit checks too are becoming more and more common for housing and employment. So basically if you have bad credit we don't want to help you try to get out if it. And if you have any kind of criminal conviction oh we also don't want to help you in any way put that behind you.
So you end up with a system that keeps people down essentially, forcing them to take shitty jobs if they can even get that, and live in a shitty neighborhood with a shitty landlord. Or worse, be jobless and homeless.
You can of course luck out on both the job and housing front but you're entirely dependent on someone giving you a chance. For a society that is supposed to pride itself on individual upward mobility, it seems odd that we put the fate of millions essentially into the generous hands of someone else who has to "give them a chance."
I feel like if someone has paid their dues for their crimes and are a free person, no one should be able to hold their past against them, as it will just keep people stuck with their past instead of allowing them to move forward.
On the credit front, I understand a low credit score can be a good predictor, but if someone can show you their income and have a good rental history and references, I don't see why a credit score should prevent someone from getting housing, and especially a job, as they need that job to improve their credit.
Background is treated as an automatic exclusionary force unless you find someone who is understanding. It shouldn't be that way.
I honestly think these systems already are essentially a social credit system in the US, with the result of extreme economic segregation that often falls along racial lines. I can't even imagine being a black person with a felony on their record.
