US Peace Index

[Ima Quaker]

The Inaugural U.S. Peace Index
This information is posted with links at the Peace Church blog:
www.amanioutreach.blogspot.com


See where your state ranks & urge elected officials to read the
report...

I thought you would be interested to learn about the inaugural United
States Peace Index, created by the international think tank, the
Institute for Economics and Peace. It is the first-ever ranking of
the fifty U.S. states based on their levels of peace.

Tell Members of Congress and the President to read the Peace Index
report and make peace investment a national priority.
Send a quick note today!

The aim of the U.S. Peace Index is "to further the understanding of
the types of environments that are associated with peace and to help
quantify the economic benefits that could result from increases in
peace."

This study estimates that "if the U.S. had the same levels of
peacefulness as Canada then over 2.7 million additional jobs could be
created while also reducing state and federal government expenditures.
This improved state of peacefulness would have a positive economic
effect of around $361 billion per year."

With budgets across the country tightening and the national
conversation shifting to big fiscal cuts, it's an important time to
make the case to our elected officials that investments in peace are
economically advantageous (not to mention morally imperative). We
must work to treat the underlying causes of violence and invest in
stronger peacebuiling infrastructure. This report makes a strong case
for the economics of peace and the information provides much fuel for
our advocacy work.

"Peace translates into dollars and cents," says IEP Founder Steve
Killelea. "By increasing peace, the United States can ensure that
these unrealized billions are available to reduce taxes, stimulate the
economy or invest in the nation's infrastructure, schools,
communities, and small businesses."

Download the full report and watch a highlight video.

U.S. Peace Index Highlights: 
(All the following information is from
their report)
• First-ever ranking of peace in the U.S. shows the nation has become
more peaceful since 1995.
• New York, California and Texas record highest increases in peace
since 1991, while North Dakota, South Dakota and Montana see largest
declines.
• If the U.S. could reduce its incarceration rate to the same level as
Canada (138 per 100,000) the total correctional population would fall
to 424,590 persons. This would mean that total costs of incarceration
would fall to around 10 billion dollars meaning total potential
savings would exceed $64 billion per annum.
• The total violent crime rate in the U.S. is 424 incidents per
100,000 people. A reduction in this rate to the same level as Canada,
which is just over 300 per 100,000 people, would have an economic
impact of approximately $27 billion.
• It is assumed that the total judicial and legal costs associated to
related crimes is in the region of $16 billion. A reduction in
judicial expenditure to bring the U.S. in line with Canada would yield
$5.8 billion in savings.
• Peace is politically neutral – neither Republican nor Democratic
states have an advantage

State Rankings:
• The ten most peaceful states as identified by the USPI are (from 1
to 10) Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Minnesota, North Dakota, Utah,
Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Iowa and Washington.
• Maine was ranked first overall because it topped the list of states
on three of the five USPI indicators: number of violent crimes, number
of police officers and the incarceration rate.
• The ten least peaceful states are (from 50 to 40) Louisiana,
Tennessee, Nevada, Florida, Alabama, Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, South
Carolina and Maryland, respectively.
• Regionally, southern states were identified as being the least
peaceful, while states in the northeast were most peaceful. The
peacefulness of states in the Midwest and West was about equal, with
Midwest states being slightly more peaceful.
• The total cost of violence per person in a state ranges from $656 in
Maine to $2,458 in Louisiana. The USPI estimates that the economic
effect of decreasing violence in states by 25 percent ranges from $126
million in Vermont to $16 billion in California.
• New York experienced the most significant increase in peace as a
result of decreases in violent crime and the homicide rate.
• Conversely, South Dakota saw the largest decline due to a steady
rise in incarcerations and the number of police without a fall in the
incidence of homicide or violent crime.
Education and health outcomes correlate strongly with peace
The USPI also finds that a state’s ranking is strongly correlated with
various socio-economic factors including the high school graduation
rate, access to health insurance and the rate of infant mortality.
Significant economic correlants included the degree of income
inequality and the rate of participation in the labor force.
Meanwhile, factors such as median income and a state’s political
affiliation had no discernable impact on a state’s level of peace.
We hope you found this information informative. Please send a quick
note today.

Gratitude,

Matthew Albracht
Director, The Peace Alliance