Trippah wrote on 07/12/18 at 09:22:50:


well stated, thank you

justin_o_guy2 wrote on 07/11/18 at 18:48:21:

I hope the idiots who made that mess don't move to Texas and vote for the same stewpidshitt that wrecked California.

Haven't a bunch, already arrived, and are living in Austin ?

I used to think in a similar manner, that it is just to stop what you are doing wrong and begin doing the right stuff. Like many of you, I dislike weakness; mine as well as that of others. However, we all have them, although they may differ greatly in how they manifest themselves. So while I find it very hard to respect addicts, I need to remind myself there are always reasons for why they turned that way. Could be they are physically disposed, or they could have suffered a traumatic childhood or any other reason.

We must also remember that nothing is harder than changing your behaviour. Which is why smokes with lung cancer continue to smoke and abusers abuse into death. Unless you see a benefit of changing behaviour that is big enough to outweigh the hardship of the change itself, it will not happen. Although I can still get upset by people throwing away their lives on stupid behaviour, I need to remind myself just how difficult it is from them not to.

But let's see this from a pure financial perspective. A homeless, workless addict cost society a lot of money. Some in form of welfare (at least here), but primary due to crime; the only way they can finance their addiction is by stealing and/or dealing. The former hurt innocent people, the latter bring more people into a world of addiction and more crime. Also, there is a substantial loss of tax income as well as revenue for shops that can be used to employ more people from unemployed members of a society.

Does it help to put them into jail? No. But it does cost a lot of money to keep them jailed. Also, once in jail, locked up with a bunch of other criminals, you are very unlikely to go straight after your stay behind bars. Instead, you are statistically a more hardened criminal.

So it is sound economy to help people live a straight life where they go to work every day. For the same reason, it makes financial sense to rehabilitate criminals instead of locking them up behind bars. Jails, for the most part, is there to deter and also to satisfy people's desire for revenge. But they do not work well for anything else. Well, not quite true; some people are too dangerous to be allowed to walk around in society and needs to be locked away. Often, though, they need mental care and not prison.