Hate crime violence costs the nation nearly $3.4 billion per year, according to a new study released by the Bard Center for the Study of Hate.
“Economic Costs of Hate Crimes” by Bard Associate Professor Michael Martell culls its data from multiple national sources to examine the wide-ranging costs of violence from hate crimes. Among the costs measured are those carried by the victims of these attacks ”“ including medical bills, lost earnings and property damage ”“ to the costs carried by the wider society ”“ including increased resources channeled into police and firefighter operations, the court system and incarceration.
“The costs of hate crimes will also tell us something about the structure of our economy, from direct costs to lost opportunities,” said Martell in his report. “Hate is usually a destructive force, and those working for human rights and against bigotry justify their work, correctly, on moral grounds. What we have shown here is that there is also a clear economic case for reducing hate.”
