If only Butch Cassidy (left) and the Sundance Kid (right) went to an economics class. Economists at the Royal Statistical Society and American Statistical Association have published a study on the economics of bank robbery and determined that crime doesn’t pay after all . . . . at least not bank robbery.
The economists were asked to study economic effectiveness of adding security measures to bank branches. However, they felt that the first step was to look at bank robbery from the perspective of the bank robbers. What they concluded is that you would be better off working at a Winn Dixie.
It would seem that Butch would finally have an answer to questioning by Ella in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid:
Butch Cassidy: Do you believe I’m broke already?
Etta Place: Why is there never any money, Butch?
Butch Cassidy: Well, I swear, Etta, I don’t know. I’ve been working like a dog all my life and I can’t get a penny ahead.
Etta Place: Sundance says it’s because you’re a soft touch, and always taking expensive vacations, and buying drinks for everyone, and you’re a rotten gambler.
Butch Cassidy: Well that might have something to do with it.
They looked at the average haul from a bank job over the three-year period, which came to only £20,330.50 ($31,613). Not a lot given the risk. However, they also factored in that on average there were 1.6 robbers involved in each heist. (I am not sure why security did not spot the .6 person walking into the bank without forty percent of his body). Taking that average, the haul was only “£12,706.60 per person per raid.”
This explains why Butch Cassidy was aghast at the money that the railroad president spent to catch him and noted “If he’d just pay me what he’s paying them to stop me robbing him, I’d stop robbing him.”
Obviously, that is even worse for some robberies with multiple felons. (A good reason to join other enterprises in downsizing in this economy). Yet statistically additional robbers were involved in jobs with a higher yield as was the use of a firearm.
The standard deviation on the £20,330.50 was £53,510.20 since many robberies failed and some did much better.
However, it is even worse in the United States where the average bank robbery nets only $4,330.00
Here the kicker “Given that the average UK wage for those in full-time employment is around £26,000, it will give him a modest life-style for no more than 6 months.” However, if you augment your income with multiple jobs, your chances of getting caught increases dramatically.
Now you take that dismal haul and apply the chances of success which are not good. One third failed — a rough 33 percent failure rate for this particular business model.
The conclusion is clear: you are better off with the rest of us slobs in the workforce. This does not even take into account the ultimate potential downside of this particular job description:
Source: ARS
Dennis,
Bank robbery takes more than a few minutes. You can get as much money as you want, if you know what you’re doing. If you don’t know what you’re doing, you lose. I’m not old enough for social security.
A bank robber was once scheduled to have his Social Security Disability terminated because he had demonstrated he could perform substantial gainful activity. An Administrative Law Judge reinstated him because
1) bank robbery only takes a few minutes and
2) Social Security doesn’t cover illegal activities.
I mailed the ALJ a transparent belt buckle with an anonymous note to wear it, so he wouldn’t bump into walls.
ID707,
I work on a commission basis.
Strained my back. Besides can’t stand manual labor, and can’t drive a truck. Are you for hire?
ID707,
Take the alcohol and tobacco instead.
AY,
Yeah, but if you spring the boxes at the checkout, then you gets lots of “salad” to pick up.
Grocery Stores have lots more cash on hand…….
Tyco, and certain others. You have to plan it properly. And don’t expect to go to the White House for dinner. Going to the White House for dinner isn’t a proper plan.
Steal five grand, go to jail for the rest of your life. Steal five billion, get a healthy retirement, a yacht, and an invitation to the White House for dinner.
Rob trains instead, and don’t blow up the money with dynamite.
You have to be smart about it. No dye packets, they will get you.
Now, you have to plan it properly. And don’t ask me how.
You may be on to something Justice Holmes. Those criminals are very well paid for their activities.
Obviously bank robbers aren’t savers
Wonder how the FED chief and the Sec. Treasury get theirs. Their official salsries can’t rival CEOs.
And don’t forget the chairmen of relevant Congressional committees.
The real ones don’t wear ski-masks. Just big smiles.
Oddly, so does Obama. Any connection?
That may be true if you rob the bank from the outside but if you do so from the inside by say posing as a competent, hands on CEO who is worth hundreds of million dollars a year you can “rob” not only your client Peter but also Peter and the Federal Reserve and never get caught. In fact you may even be treated as a hero or at least a genius when you testify before Congress. It is a strange world and an even stranger legal system.