--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We've got the emPHAsis on the wrong…" description: "\"We've got the emPHAsis on the wrong sylLAble when it comes to crime in this country. The FBI says burglary and robbery cost U.S. taxpayers $3.8 billion..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b0/molly-ivins-1296_billions_we-ve-got-the-emphasis-on-the-wrong-syll_2721097.png" --- # We've got the emPHAsis on the wrong sylLAble when it comes… ![“We've got the emPHAsis on the wrong sylLAble when it comes to crime in this country. The FBI says burglary and robbery cost U.S. taxpayers $3.8 billion annually. Securities fraud alone costs four times that. And securities fraud is nothing to the cost of oil spills, price-fixing, and dangerous or…” quote by Molly Ivins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b0/molly-ivins-1296_billions_we-ve-got-the-emphasis-on-the-wrong-syll_2721097.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b0/molly-ivins-1296_billions_we-ve-got-the-emphasis-on-the-wrong-syll_2721097.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b0/molly-ivins-1296_billions_we-ve-got-the-emphasis-on-the-wrong-syll_2721097.png) > “We've got the emPHAsis on the wrong sylLAble when it comes to crime in this country. The FBI says burglary and robbery cost U.S. taxpayers $3.8 billion annually. Securities fraud alone costs four times that. And securities fraud is nothing to the cost of oil spills, price-fixing, and dangerous or defective products. Fraud by health-care corporations alone costs us between $100 billion and $400 billion a year. No three-strikes-and-you're-out for these guys. Remember the S&L scandal? $500 billion.” [Molly Ivins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-ivins/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Highlights the disproportionate focus on violent crime while financial and corporate fraud cause far greater economic damage. **In simple terms:** We focus on the wrong crimes, missing larger financial harms. Key Takeaway Shift attention to systemic fraud. Themes crime economics policy justice Mood critical concerned Type analytical explanatory When to use this quote - government budgeting - corporate compliance - public awareness - legislative reform Key Concepts public policy risk assessment regulation Questions to Reflect On - How can policy prioritize hidden economic harms? - What mechanisms can improve fraud detection? A Different Perspective Financial fraud is harder to detect and prosecute than street crime. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Billions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/billions/) [Burglary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/burglary/) [Care](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/care/) [Corporations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/corporations/) [Cost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cost/) [Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country/) [Crime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crime/) [Dangerous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dangerous/) [Defective](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/defective/) [Emphasis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emphasis/) [Fbi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fbi/) [Fixing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fixing/) [Four](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/four/) [Fraud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fraud/) [Fraud Cost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fraud-cost-2883096/) [Fraud Costs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fraud-costs-2883095/) [Guy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guy/) [Health care](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/health-care/) [Libertarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/libertarian/) [Oil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oil/) [Oil spill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oil-spill/) [Products](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/products/) [Remember](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remember/) [Robbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/robbery/) [Robbery Cost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/robbery-cost-2883097/) [Scandal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scandal/) [Securities Fraud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/securities-fraud-2785478/) [Security](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/security/) [Spills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spills/) [Strikes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strikes/) [Syllables](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/syllables/) [Taxpayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taxpayers/) [Three](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/three/) [Three strikes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/three-strikes-190909/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/) ## Related quotes > [Well, we want to make sure there's not securities fraud.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-nickles/well-we-want-to-make-sure-there-s-not-securities-fraud/) [Don Nickles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-nickles/) > [Once I really got into securities fraud prosecutions, I came to realize how central they were to the maintenance of a free market and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-s-rakoff/once-i-really-got-into-securities-fraud-prosecutions-i-came-to/) [Jed S. Rakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-s-rakoff/) > [Why should the court impose a judgment in a case in which the SEC alleges a serious securities fraud, but the defendant neither admits…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-s-rakoff/why-should-the-court-impose-a-judgment-in-a-case-in-which-the-sec/) [Jed S. Rakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-s-rakoff/) > [Securities fraud generally and insider trading in particular should be eminently deterrable crimes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/preet-bharara/securities-fraud-generally-and-insider-trading-in-particular-should/) [Preet Bharara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/preet-bharara/) > [The Catholic Church has a tough new policy on child molestors: three strikes and you're a cardinal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-letterman/the-catholic-church-has-a-tough-new-policy-on-child-molestors-three/) [David Letterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-letterman/) > [So many people representing different sections of our community are taken down one way or another. The system was designed to break us down.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/snoop-dogg/so-many-people-representing-different-sections-of-our-community-are/) [Snoop Dogg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/snoop-dogg/) > [Throw strikes. Home plate don't move.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/satchel-paige/throw-strikes-home-plate-don-t-move/) [Satchel Paige](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/satchel-paige/) > [The one thing about the music business is that there is no rulebook. It's not like the NFL or something where there's four downs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zakk-wylde/the-one-thing-about-the-music-business-is-that-there-is-no-rulebook/) [Zakk Wylde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zakk-wylde/) > [The principal House sponsor (of the Defense of Marriage Act), Bob Barr of Georgia has been married three times--which raises the question of why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-rich/the-principal-house-sponsor-of-the-defense-of-marriage-act-bob-barr/) [Frank Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-rich/) > [Three strikes, you're out. I don't care if you hire Edward Bennett Williams to defend you; three strikes, you're still out. Baseball is an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-veeck/three-strikes-you-re-out-i-don-t-care-if-you-hire-edward-bennett/) [Bill Veeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-veeck/) > [Many years ago, but not so long ago, there were those who said, 'Well, you have three strikes against you: You're black, you're blind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-wonder/many-years-ago-but-not-so-long-ago-there-were-those-who-said-well-you/) [Stevie Wonder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-wonder/) > [Those in blue suits who use thinly veiled race symbols -- when they say welfare and crime and three strikes and anti- affirmative action…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-jackson/those-in-blue-suits-who-use-thinly-veiled-race-symbols-when-they-say/) [Jesse Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-jackson/) > [A man can be prevented from breaking into other persons' houses by shutting him up, but shutting him up may not alter his disposition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/a-man-can-be-prevented-from-breaking-into-other-persons-houses-by/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [“The whole concept of some stranger making his way down our chimney - not that we had one - suggested burglary more readily than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomm-quackenbush/the-whole-concept-of-some-stranger-making-his-way-down-our-chimney/) [Thomm Quackenbush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomm-quackenbush/) > [The underlying crime in Watergate was a clumsy, third-rate burglary in an election campaign that turned out to be a landslide.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-t-conway-iii/the-underlying-crime-in-watergate-was-a-clumsy-third-rate-burglary-in/) [George T. Conway III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-t-conway-iii/) ## More by Molly Ivins > [Preemptive war is what Israel did in '67 with Arab armies on its borders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-ivins/preemptive-war-is-what-israel-did-in-67-with-arab-armies-on-its/) [Molly Ivins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-ivins/) > [The idols of one's adolescence tend to endure - you never forget how you worshipped them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-ivins/the-idols-of-one-s-adolescence-tend-to-endure-you-never-forget-how/) [Molly Ivins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-ivins/) > [Having breast cancer is massive amounts of no fun,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-ivins/having-breast-cancer-is-massive-amounts-of-no-fun/) [Molly Ivins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-ivins/) > [How the American right managed to convince itself that the programs to alleviate poverty are responsible for the consequences of poverty will someday be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-ivins/how-the-american-right-managed-to-convince-itself-that-the-programs/) [Molly Ivins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-ivins/) > [To mistake Midland for the volk heartland is the West Texas equivalent of assuming that Greenwich, Connecticut, is Levittown.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-ivins/to-mistake-midland-for-the-volk-heartland-is-the-west-texas/) [Molly Ivins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-ivins/) > [I only aim at the powerful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-ivins/i-only-aim-at-the-powerful/) [Molly Ivins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-ivins/) > [Even for southerners, Arkansans are amazingly friendly and extend hospitality to all strangers with astonishing openness. You couldn't find a pretension in that state…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-ivins/even-for-southerners-arkansans-are-amazingly-friendly-and-extend/) [Molly Ivins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-ivins/) > [It's hard to convince people that you're killing them for their own good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-ivins/it-s-hard-to-convince-people-that-you-re-killing-them-for-their-own/) [Molly Ivins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-ivins/) > [the pyramids were built for pharaohs on the happy theory that they could take their stuff with them. Versailles was built for kings on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-ivins/the-pyramids-were-built-for-pharaohs-on-the-happy-theory-that-they/) [Molly Ivins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-ivins/) > [Any nation that can survive what we have lately in the way of government, is on the high road to permanent glory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-ivins/any-nation-that-can-survive-what-we-have-lately-in-the-way-of/) [Molly Ivins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-ivins/) > [I think provincialism is an endemic characteristic with mankind, I think everybody everywhere is provincial, but it is particularly striking with Texans, and we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-ivins/i-think-provincialism-is-an-endemic-characteristic-with-mankind-i/) [Molly Ivins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-ivins/) > [During a recent panel on the numerous failures of American journalism, I proposed that almost all stories about government should begin: “Look out! They're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-ivins/during-a-recent-panel-on-the-numerous-failures-of-american-journalism/) [Molly Ivins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-ivins/) > [Naturally, when it comes to voting, we in Texas are accustomed to discerning that fine hair’s-breadth worth of difference that makes one hopeless dipstick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-ivins/naturally-when-it-comes-to-voting-we-in-texas-are-accustomed-to/) [Molly Ivins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-ivins/) > [Be outrageous, ridicule the fraidy-cats, rejoice in all the oddities that freedom can produce.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-ivins/be-outrageous-ridicule-the-fraidy-cats-rejoice-in-all-the-oddities/) [Molly Ivins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-ivins/) > [Texas is not a civilized place. Texans shoot one another a lot. They also knife, razor, and stomp one another to death with some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-ivins/texas-is-not-a-civilized-place-texans-shoot-one-another-a-lot-they/) [Molly Ivins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-ivins/) [Explore all 260 Molly Ivins quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-ivins/) ## More Billions quotes > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [As far as Japan is concerned, I want to help all of our allies, but we are losing billions and billions of dollars. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/as-far-as-japan-is-concerned-i-want-to-help-all-of-our-allies-but-we/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [The universe is simmering down, like a giant stew left to cook for four billion years. Sooner or later we won’t be able to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-bloch/the-universe-is-simmering-down-like-a-giant-stew-left-to-cook-for/) [Arthur Bloch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-bloch/) > [Right now, the government is spending billions of dollars supporting the problem-makers in the U.S. economy - the polluters, despoilers, incarcerators, and warmongers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-jones/right-now-the-government-is-spending-billions-of-dollars-supporting/) [Van Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-jones/) > [If Jesus is the Son of God in human flesh, He's one of a kind of the 13 billions of people who have ever lived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-lahaye/if-jesus-is-the-son-of-god-in-human-flesh-he-s-one-of-a-kind-of-the/) [Tim LaHaye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-lahaye/) > [Here we were talking about economic development, about investing billions of dollars in various programs, and I could see it wasn't billions of dollars…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-yunus/here-we-were-talking-about-economic-development-about-investing/) [Muhammad Yunus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-yunus/) > [Everyone thinks they've won the Magical Belief Lottery. Everyone thinks they more or less have a handle on things, that they, as opposed to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-scott-bakker/everyone-thinks-they-ve-won-the-magical-belief-lottery-everyone/) [R. Scott Bakker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-scott-bakker/) > [Most neuroses and some psychoses can be traced to the unnecessary and unhealthy habit of daily wallowing in the troubles and sins of five…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/most-neuroses-and-some-psychoses-can-be-traced-to-the-unnecessary-and/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [The technology involved in making anything invisible is so infinitely complex that nine hundred and ninety-nine billion, nine hundred and ninety-nine million, nine hundred…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/the-technology-involved-in-making-anything-invisible-is-so-infinitely/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [The idea of spontaneous generation of life in its present form is therefore highly improbable even to the scale of the billions of years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilya-prigogine/the-idea-of-spontaneous-generation-of-life-in-its-present-form-is/) [Ilya Prigogine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilya-prigogine/) > [To defy heredity is to defy billions of years, to defy the first cell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-m-cioran/to-defy-heredity-is-to-defy-billions-of-years-to-defy-the-first-cell/) [Emile M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-m-cioran/) > [When I look at the human brain I'm still in awe of it. Every single time you lift off the bone and open the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-carson/when-i-look-at-the-human-brain-i-m-still-in-awe-of-it-every-single/) [Benjamin Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-carson/) > [Every one of us is, in the cosmic perspective, precious. If a human disagrees with you, let him live. In a hundred billion galaxies,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/every-one-of-us-is-in-the-cosmic-perspective-precious-if-a-human/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [ We have the ability to take him \[President of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez\] out, and I think the time has come that we exercise that… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-robertson/we-have-the-ability-to-take-him-president-of-venezuela-hugo-chavez/) [Pat Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-robertson/) > [The buildings that were in question, they said in the same report, which was - actually, it wasn't even a bad story, to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/the-buildings-that-were-in-question-they-said-in-the-same-report/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) [Browse all 1,864 Billions quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/billions/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We've got the emPHAsis on the wrong sylLAble when it comes to crime in this country. The FBI says burglary and robbery cost U.S. taxpayers $3.8 billion annually. Securities fraud alone costs four times that. And securities fraud is nothing to the cost of oil spills, price-fixing, and dangerous or defective products. Fraud by health-care corporations alone costs us between $100 billion and $400 billion a year. No three-strikes-and-you're-out for these guys. 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