I could have lost my appartment in the process, though, and end up in the streets forever.
Don't you have a family?
Granted, I understand that there are people who don't have family, or whose family would chose not to help, or whatever. But the vast majority of us should have someone around who can lend a hand, right? And for the others, I can cope with the idea of some sort of social welfare since they don't have other options...
Spawn it's a fact that many people are driven to crime because of thier living conditions.
It's not always possible to find a job immediately and you got to eat and pay the rent. Once a person gets hungry enough - or once a person listens to his child cry hunger for a day or two, crime starts to feel very appealing trust me.
Um, no, most commit crime because they choose not to pursue non-criminal options for moneymaking (for whatever the reason).
I'm not proposing that social welfare be eliminated. So, whether it's the US or Norway, there's no reason that kids should go hungry... we both have more than enough social welfare to provide for that sort of thing.
As for someone being driven to crime... why is that? Is that because they're not willing to work two jobs to make ends meet? Or because they aren't willing to be a burger-flipper, janitor, garbageman, or ditch-digger? Most of the time there are choices other than crime. Of course, it might be easier to commit the crime than work two jobs at minimum wage... but don't claim that you were driven to commit it.