{"id":33414,"date":"2022-07-03T19:25:10","date_gmt":"2022-07-03T19:25:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/?p=33414"},"modified":"2022-07-03T19:25:10","modified_gmt":"2022-07-03T19:25:10","slug":"the-economic-cost-of-gun-violence-in-america-was-810-billion-in-one-year-heres-why","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/03\/the-economic-cost-of-gun-violence-in-america-was-810-billion-in-one-year-heres-why\/","title":{"rendered":"The economic cost of gun violence in America was $810 billion in one year. Here&#8217;s why"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> [ad_1]<\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"_1HzXw\">The <a target=\"_blank\" class=\"u0kBv _3CtDL _1_pW8 _3Fvo9\" href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/2022-06-22\/uvalde-police-response-school-shooting\/101172432\" data-component=\"ContentLink\" rel=\"noopener\">recent shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas<\/a>, that\u00a0saw 19 children and two teachers killed, once again showed the brutality of gun violence in the US.<\/p>\n<p class=\"_1HzXw\">But behind each of these deadly shootings is a catalogue of numbers that&#8217;s\u00a0just as shocking.<\/p>\n<p class=\"_1HzXw\">Every day, <a target=\"_blank\" class=\"u0kBv _3CtDL _1_pW8 _3Fvo9\" href=\"https:\/\/everytownresearch.org\/report\/gun-violence-in-america\/\" data-component=\"ContentLink\" rel=\"noopener\">more than 110 Americans are killed by guns and more than 200 are left injured<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"_1HzXw\">That&#8217;s about 20,000 deaths and 36,000 injuries so far this year.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"_3qLh5 _sBMB _3fob9\" data-component=\"Pullquote\">\n<blockquote class=\"_1BTTn\">\n<p class=\"_1HzXw\">&#8220;The average household with guns owns more than seven guns. [So] we have more guns than people in this country, which is a little crazy,&#8221; Ted Miller, a health economist from the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, <a target=\"_blank\" class=\"u0kBv _3CtDL _1_pW8 _3Fvo9\" href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/radionational\/programs\/themoney\/consumer-sentiment-the-cost-of-gun-violence-in-the-us-and-the\/13931924\" data-component=\"ContentLink\" rel=\"noopener\">tells ABC RN&#8217;s The Money<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/aside>\n<p class=\"_1HzXw\">Mr Miller has another figure to add to this list. For decades, he has periodically crunched the numbers and worked out the price tag of gun violence in the US.<\/p>\n<p class=\"_1HzXw\">By his latest calculations, using 2019 data, it comes to $US557 billion (or $810 billion) in one year.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"_1EAJU hMmqO SYcM3 zwVFG _1BqKa _3AExf _3HiTE x9R1x pDrMR hmFfs _390V1\" data-component=\"Heading\">Calculating\u00a0the costs<\/h2>\n<p class=\"_1HzXw\">Mr Miller broke down the economic costs\u00a0of gun violence into two categories: Direct and indirect.<\/p>\n<p class=\"_1HzXw\">After every shooting, there is a string of direct costs that may affect an individual, their family and their immediate circle.<\/p>\n<p class=\"_1HzXw\">&#8220;There&#8217;s medical care, not only of the injury when it first happens, but the lifetime of medical care that can follow, for example, a traumatic brain injury or spinal cord injury. And there&#8217;s mental health care for the victim and the victim&#8217;s family,&#8221; Mr Miller says.<\/p>\n<p class=\"_1HzXw\">He says direct costs also included the need for emergency services like police and then the involvement of the criminal justice system, from court costs to incarceration costs.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"_247xw _3qLh5 _sBMB _3pBTa\" role=\"group\" data-print=\"inline-media\" aria-labelledby=\"101193642\" data-component=\"Figure\" data-uri=\"coremedia:\/\/imageproxy\/101193642\">\n<div class=\"_3poXF\" data-component=\"IntersectionObserver\">\n<div class=\"_1Axyg\" style=\"--aspect-ratio:1.5\" data-component=\"AspectRatioContainer\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"A woman lights a candle as dozens of other candles flicker.\" class=\"jMqWO _1PHKk\" data-component=\"Image\" data-nojs=\"true\" src=\"https:\/\/live-production.wcms.abc-cdn.net.au\/09b6c52aa9d538776527c84c6b6a65ca?impolicy=wcms_crop_resize&amp;cropH=3333&amp;cropW=5000&amp;xPos=0&amp;yPos=0&amp;width=862&amp;height=575\" data-sizes=\"100vw\"\/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"A woman lights a candle as dozens of other candles flicker.\" src=\"https:\/\/live-production.wcms.abc-cdn.net.au\/09b6c52aa9d538776527c84c6b6a65ca?impolicy=wcms_crop_resize&amp;cropH=3333&amp;cropW=5000&amp;xPos=0&amp;yPos=0&amp;width=862&amp;height=575\" class=\"jMqWO _1PHKk\" sizes=\"100vw\" data-component=\"Image\"\/><\/noscript><\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"_1EAJU _2_dbS _2L258 _14LIk _3pVeq hmFfs _2F43D\" id=\"101193642\" data-component=\"Figure__figcaption\"> <!-- -->Mourners lit dozens of candles after a mass shooting in Buffalo, New York left 10 people dead in May.<cite class=\"_1EAJU _1ftZy _2L258 _14LIk _3pVeq hmFfs _2F43D\" data-component=\"Figure__cite\">(<span class=\"_1EAJU _1s6pr _2L258 _1BqKa _3pVeq hmFfs _2F43D\" data-component=\"Byline\"><span class=\"_1EAJU _2L258 _14LIk _3pVeq hmFfs _2F43D\" data-component=\"Text\"><span>Reuters<\/span><\/span><\/span>)<\/cite><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"_1HzXw\">Mr Miller then looked at the indirect costs or &#8220;the [lost] value of life,&#8221; which he broke down into &#8220;the work loss, both wage work and household work \u2026 [because] if you&#8217;re killed, you lose a lifetime of work costs&#8221; and &#8220;lost quality of life.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"_1HzXw\">The &#8220;lost quality of life,&#8221; which formed the bulk of the overall amount, represented\u00a0&#8220;the present value of what was irreparably damaged when a victim&#8217;s life was cut short or a survivor was permanently disabled by gun violence.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"_1HzXw\">Using 2019 data from US federal government sources and a cost model developed by the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, these direct and indirect costs added up to $US557 billion, or $810 billion, in one year.<\/p>\n<p class=\"_1HzXw\">This was a big spike from Mr Miller&#8217;s last analysis of gun violence.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"_1EAJU hMmqO SYcM3 zwVFG _1BqKa _3AExf _3HiTE x9R1x pDrMR hmFfs _390V1\" data-component=\"Heading\">Far higher than previously thought<\/h2>\n<p class=\"_1HzXw\">The costs calculated from the 2019 data ($US557 billion) were substantially higher than the last time Mr Miller crunched the numbers using the 2018 data. Those figures worked out to be $US280 billion ($406 billion).<\/p>\n<p class=\"_1HzXw\">Mr Miller says this was because of one significant numerical change.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"_247xw _3qLh5 _sBMB _3pBTa\" role=\"group\" data-print=\"inline-media\" aria-labelledby=\"101194256\" data-component=\"Figure\" data-uri=\"coremedia:\/\/imageproxy\/101194256\">\n<div class=\"_3poXF\" data-component=\"IntersectionObserver\">\n<div class=\"_1Axyg\" style=\"--aspect-ratio:1.5\" data-component=\"AspectRatioContainer\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"A man walks past bullet holes in a shop window.\" class=\"jMqWO _1PHKk\" data-component=\"Image\" data-nojs=\"true\" src=\"https:\/\/live-production.wcms.abc-cdn.net.au\/469b0de25bda1d96419689141287ba24?impolicy=wcms_crop_resize&amp;cropH=2995&amp;cropW=4493&amp;xPos=4&amp;yPos=0&amp;width=862&amp;height=575\" data-sizes=\"100vw\"\/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"A man walks past bullet holes in a shop window.\" src=\"https:\/\/live-production.wcms.abc-cdn.net.au\/469b0de25bda1d96419689141287ba24?impolicy=wcms_crop_resize&amp;cropH=2995&amp;cropW=4493&amp;xPos=4&amp;yPos=0&amp;width=862&amp;height=575\" class=\"jMqWO _1PHKk\" sizes=\"100vw\" data-component=\"Image\"\/><\/noscript><\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"_1EAJU _2_dbS _2L258 _14LIk _3pVeq hmFfs _2F43D\" id=\"101194256\" data-component=\"Figure__figcaption\"> <!-- -->A pedestrian walks past bullet holes in the window of a Philadelphia storefront.<cite class=\"_1EAJU _1ftZy _2L258 _14LIk _3pVeq hmFfs _2F43D\" data-component=\"Figure__cite\">(<span class=\"_1EAJU _1s6pr _2L258 _1BqKa _3pVeq hmFfs _2F43D\" data-component=\"Byline\"><span class=\"_1EAJU _2L258 _14LIk _3pVeq hmFfs _2F43D\" data-component=\"Text\"><span>Getty Images: Kriston Jae Bethel<\/span><\/span><\/span>)<\/cite><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"_1HzXw\">US federal government departments and agencies recently settled on a &#8220;value of a life&#8221; amount that was substantially higher than what was previously used. So Mr Miller adopted the same metric.<\/p>\n<p class=\"_1HzXw\">&#8220;We&#8217;ve gone from using a value of a human life of about $US6-6.5 million ($8.5-9 million) to one that&#8217;s about $US10.5 million ($15 million),&#8221; he says.<\/p>\n<p class=\"_1HzXw\">As a result,\u00a0the economic cost of gun violence is much higher than previously thought.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"_1EAJU hMmqO SYcM3 zwVFG _1BqKa _3AExf _3HiTE x9R1x pDrMR hmFfs _390V1\" data-component=\"Heading\">Who foots the bill?<\/h2>\n<p class=\"_1HzXw\">When it comes to the direct costs, specifically around healthcare, the government (so, the taxpayer) foots a big portion of the bill.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"_3qLh5 _sBMB _1ilWc _21naB\" data-component=\"LegacyWysiwyg\" data-print=\"inline-media\" data-uri=\"coremedia:\/\/teaser\/100895554\" title=\"Listen to the podcast\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"The Money teaser\" src=\"https:\/\/live-production.wcms.abc-cdn.net.au\/0ceeb54c6d6f671260c6aa91ef3c26a0?src\" width=\"340\" height=\"180\" class=\"jMqWO\" data-component=\"Image\" data-uri=\"coremedia:\/\/image\/10559578\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"_1HzXw\"><a target=\"_blank\" class=\"u0kBv _3CtDL _1_pW8 _3Fvo9\" href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/radionational\/programs\/themoney\/podcasts-and-feeds\/7073954\" data-component=\"ContentLink\" data-uri=\"coremedia:\/\/collection\/7073954\" rel=\"noopener\">The Money explains how the Australian economy and everything in it works, and how it connects to the global economy.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p class=\"_1HzXw\">&#8220;Most of the firearm injuries are covered by Medicare or Medicaid, which are our public insurance programs for lower income people,&#8221; Mr Miller says.<\/p>\n<p class=\"_1HzXw\">&#8220;Private health insurance pays another large chunk \u2026 And some [bills] will even be paid out-of-pocket by people who were shot.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"_1HzXw\">Mr Miller says the government has &#8220;some income transfer programs for people who are severely and permanently disabled&#8221; by gun violence meaning it &#8220;picks up some of those indirect wage losses as well.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"_1HzXw\">US employers are also paying the costs for gun violence.<\/p>\n<p class=\"_1HzXw\">&#8220;Employers pay for things like life insurance and [after an episode of gun violence] they have to go hire and train a new employee,&#8221; Mr Miller says.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"_1EAJU hMmqO SYcM3 zwVFG _1BqKa _3AExf _3HiTE x9R1x pDrMR hmFfs _390V1\" data-component=\"Heading\">Suicide and guns<\/h2>\n<p class=\"_1HzXw\">While US gun violence is often associated with mass shootings, suicide accounts for <a target=\"_blank\" class=\"u0kBv _3CtDL _1_pW8 _3Fvo9\" href=\"https:\/\/everytownresearch.org\/report\/gun-violence-in-america\/\" data-component=\"ContentLink\" rel=\"noopener\">around 60 per cent of all lives lost to guns<\/a>.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"_3qLh5 _sBMB _1ilWc _21naB\" data-component=\"LegacyWysiwyg\" data-print=\"inline-media\" data-uri=\"coremedia:\/\/teaser\/101193846\" title=\"More stories from The Money\">\n<h2 class=\"_1EAJU hMmqO _316gH _1zBDU _1BqKa _2AH39 _3HiTE x9R1x pDrMR hmFfs _390V1\" data-component=\"Heading\">More stories from The Money:<\/h2>\n<\/aside>\n<p class=\"_1HzXw\">The analysis showed that suicides have lower overall economic costs associated with them, as less is spent on direct costs like the criminal justice system and incarceration.<\/p>\n<p class=\"_1HzXw\">But as Mr Miller and his team put it: &#8220;The intangible cost in pain and suffering is a crushing weight to bear.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"_1HzXw\">And the prevalence of guns plays a big part in where the suicides and homicides occur.<\/p>\n<p class=\"_1HzXw\">&#8220;One of the interesting things that we&#8217;ve learned through research is that your chance of dying by suicide, and your chance of dying by homicide, are both much higher if you have a gun in your home,&#8221; Mr Miller says.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"_1EAJU hMmqO SYcM3 zwVFG _1BqKa _3AExf _3HiTE x9R1x pDrMR hmFfs _390V1\" data-component=\"Heading\">Action on guns<\/h2>\n<p class=\"_1HzXw\">Despite the regularity of gun violence in the US, there was some good news for gun control activists last month.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"_247xw _3qLh5 _sBMB _3pBTa\" role=\"group\" data-print=\"inline-media\" aria-labelledby=\"101194462\" data-component=\"Figure\" data-uri=\"coremedia:\/\/imageproxy\/101194462\">\n<div class=\"_3poXF\" data-component=\"IntersectionObserver\">\n<div class=\"_1Axyg\" style=\"--aspect-ratio:1.5\" data-component=\"AspectRatioContainer\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"A young boy with a shirt reading 'protect me' and a woman with a shirt featuring child handprints. \" class=\"jMqWO _1PHKk\" data-component=\"Image\" data-nojs=\"true\" src=\"https:\/\/live-production.wcms.abc-cdn.net.au\/11741b68940f792a0c8fb740265e6009?impolicy=wcms_crop_resize&amp;cropH=3333&amp;cropW=5000&amp;xPos=0&amp;yPos=0&amp;width=862&amp;height=575\" data-sizes=\"100vw\"\/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"A young boy with a shirt reading 'protect me' and a woman with a shirt featuring child handprints. \" src=\"https:\/\/live-production.wcms.abc-cdn.net.au\/11741b68940f792a0c8fb740265e6009?impolicy=wcms_crop_resize&amp;cropH=3333&amp;cropW=5000&amp;xPos=0&amp;yPos=0&amp;width=862&amp;height=575\" class=\"jMqWO _1PHKk\" sizes=\"100vw\" data-component=\"Image\"\/><\/noscript><\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"_1EAJU _2_dbS _2L258 _14LIk _3pVeq hmFfs _2F43D\" id=\"101194462\" data-component=\"Figure__figcaption\"> <!-- -->People across the US have been taking part in rallies for\u00a0gun control after a recent string of mass shootings.<cite class=\"_1EAJU _1ftZy _2L258 _14LIk _3pVeq hmFfs _2F43D\" data-component=\"Figure__cite\">(<span class=\"_1EAJU _1s6pr _2L258 _1BqKa _3pVeq hmFfs _2F43D\" data-component=\"Byline\"><span class=\"_1EAJU _2L258 _14LIk _3pVeq hmFfs _2F43D\" data-component=\"Text\"><span>Reuters<\/span><\/span><\/span>)<\/cite><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"_1HzXw\">US Congress passed <a target=\"_blank\" class=\"u0kBv _3CtDL _1_pW8 _3Fvo9\" href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/2022-06-25\/us-president-biden-signs-gun-safety-bill-into-law\/101184096\" data-component=\"ContentLink\" rel=\"noopener\">the most sweeping gun violence bill in decades<\/a>, a bipartisan compromise on an issue which bitterly divides Americans.<\/p>\n<p class=\"_1HzXw\">The new law included a package of measures, such as toughening background checks for younger gun buyers, restrictions on gun ownership for perpetrators of domestic violence and funding for mental health programs.<\/p>\n<p class=\"_1HzXw\">&#8220;Lives will be saved,&#8221; President Joe Biden said at the White House while signing the law.<\/p>\n<p class=\"_1HzXw\">But the law was signed only days after the US Supreme Court\u00a0<a target=\"_blank\" class=\"u0kBv _3CtDL _1_pW8 _3Fvo9\" href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/2022-06-24\/supreme-court-strikes-new-york-gun-law-expanding-gun-rights\/101179332\" data-component=\"ContentLink\" rel=\"noopener\">expanded gun rights<\/a> by ruling that Americans have a right to carry firearms in public for personal defence.<\/p>\n<div data-component=\"InlineSubscribe\" class=\"_10-Oa\">\n<h3 class=\"_1EAJU hMmqO _316gH _1SwKP _1BqKa _2YWka _3HiTE x9R1x pDrMR hmFfs _390V1\" data-component=\"Heading\">RN in your inbox<\/h3>\n<p class=\"_1EAJU HzKkC _1BqKa _3pVeq hmFfs\" data-component=\"Text\">Get more stories that go beyond the news cycle with our weekly newsletter.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>[ad_2]<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/2022-07-04\/cost-of-gun-violence-in-america\/101192746\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[ad_1] The recent shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, that\u00a0saw 19 children and&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":33415,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33414","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-research"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33414","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33414"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33414\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33416,"href":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33414\/revisions\/33416"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33415"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33414"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33414"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33414"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}