Washington Post: Biden's "absurd" claims on higher rape and murder rates

In a desperate attempt to sell the floundering Stimulus II bill, Vice President Joe Biden, the noted fabulist, claims that rape and murder rates are higher since Flint, Michigan laid off police officers.

Here's what Biden said last week:

In Flint, Michigan, they cut their force in half; murder rates have doubled in the last year…Police departments, as I said, in some cases literally cut in half, like Camden, New Jersey, and Flint, Michigan. In many cities, the result has been -- and it's not unique -- murder rates are up, robberies are up, rapes are up…I said rape was up, three times in Flint. There are the numbers. Go look at the numbers.

The numbers tell a different story, as the Washington Post learned. The frequency of rapes went down in Flint--Biden says they they tripled. Murder is up--but the rate has not doubled. I suspect that the increase could be due to a a spike in domestic disturbance killings--which all cops say they are nearly powerless to prevent. Fewer people are working, more people are at home. Sometimes familiarity breeds contempt.

As in so many instances, Biden is wrong.

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