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Reader question: Please explain this sentence, especially “white-collar crime”: Public sector cuts have led to fewer prosecutions for white collar crime in the UK. My comments: First of all, public sector refers to businesses under the control of the government. Public means that they are owned by the public, i.e. everyone instead of any private person or persons. For example, the judiciary, health care and education are mostly in the domain of the public sector in the UK as well as other countries. Public sector businesses are usually non-profit, or not just for profit. They’re paid by the government via tax payers and are aimed at safeguarding social order and public wellbeing. In contrast, a pure private business, such as the restaurant in the street corner, is concerned only with making money. In our example, governments at various levels in the UK have been cutting expenditure for the public sector to such a degree that they not have enough money to prosecute white-collar crime. In other words, even though many white-collar criminals have been identified, prosecutors don’t have the money to actually catch them and bring them to book, because going through the legal process is long and costly. Oh, white-collar crime. Literally, white collar crimes are committed by people wearing white collars – instead of blue collars. You know the difference between a white-collar worker and a blue-collar worker, don’t you? | 
