by Jack
50 years ago, when the homeless were judged to be severally mentally ill and unable to care for their own welfare we sent them to mental institutions. Let me point a finer point on this… we locked them away in asylums with substandard treatment. Of course, it was our intention to do this ONLY when they were so out of touch with reality they would never be able to hold a job, much less stay out of the cold to avoid freezing to death.
They did not have a good life in these institutions, but it was far better than sleeping on the street, sometimes starving and sometimes being victimized. Somehow we rationalized it was better for them to be free… free to live in their own filth until they were taken by death.
Inside the institutions there were abuses and care varied by wide margins. We had locked them up to keep them out of sight and rarely did their situation improve enough to return them back to society. So most of the patients died there, heavily medicated and passive. But they slept in a clean bed, had basic healthcare, balanced diets and they wore clean clothes.
By the 1960’s there was a growing bi-partisan movement to improve the lives of patients in these asylums. The ACLU sued to have these people released from their prison-like hospitals, citing if they were not an immediate threat to themselves or others, society had no right to deprive them of their liberty. Ironically, many professional psychiatric associations agreed, adding that out-patient care would produce better results.
Most of the mental health hospitals were shutdown and replaced by new local clinics. But, the clinics were under utilized, because the mentally ill were not coming in for help. Mentally ill people were not good decision makers, they were not reliable to keep appointments or take medication and the clinics were closed for lack of use.
Eventually this wound up in a sudden increase of homeless and they crazy folks melded with the new homeless, the dropouts, the illegals, the petty criminals, etc., This became a national problem. But, even the homeless recognized that living on the streets of Los Angeles in December beat the heck outta the streets in New York.
Meet the tens of thousands of homeless migrating to the golden streets of CA.
Now what, what do we do with the homeless? They are migrating from all over the country to the West Coast where the living is better and benefits lavish compared to their former locations. But, Washington, Oregon and California combined don’t have the means to deal with what is clearly a nation-wide problem.
In truth, as a nation, we don’t have infinite funds to spend the 100K a year it would cost to treat and support just one mentally ill person in a manner that would meet with liberal approval. It seems there are no good choices. Tiny houses, drug rehab, clinics, asylums, none are a perfect answer.
Warehousing the mentally ill was found unacceptable. Releasing them to their own devices is not working, it’s made it worse and that’s unacceptable. As a state overrun by the nations homeless, we can’t afford to support them all and even if we could, the law says we can’t force them into treatment… this situation is unacceptable.
The feces and needles on the streets of San Francisco, Los Angeles, etc., the increased petty crimes and costly wildland fires wherever homeless gather….is unacceptable. The democrats own this state. They control Sacramento, they have a super majority in two houses and the governors chair, so what are they doing about it?
“Warehousing the mentally ill was found unacceptable.”
But we’re going to have to take another crack at it … just not the “warehousing” part. Completely and competently staffed, community integrated, group homes. This is what will work … but you will not pay for it. End of discussion.
It’s real slow at the salt mine today, so I’ve been listening to John Oliver’s “Authoritarianism” on YouTube. It’s pertinent to this. Authoritarians are popular because, among other things, they make things simple. This social problem (what to do with the crazies) is not simple. So you should probably just let it alone.
Other people … they are working on it. I just heard about a gruesome case, a feces-smearer, who has been in the county jail for eight months without a trial, because he’s plainly not competent to stand trial, which the county refused to admit, because THAT costs EVEN MORE money … i.e., The Looney Bin. But he’s finally being shipped off to some such facility. And some weeks or months down the road, in this more therapeutic environment, he will likely cease to be a feces-smearer … and commence agitating for his civil right to community placement. And there are some places, but they tend to be incompetently and incompletely staffed, causing clients to lapse back onto the streets, commit some misdemeanor, wind up back in the jail … and commence to re-decorate their cells … for eight months without a trial.
Fun, fun, fun …
Anyway, simpletons … they cannot deal with this, intellectually, emotionally or monetarily … and so they vote for Donald Trump.
Ick.
Libby, how much would you like us to pay? Seriously, how much? I think I could support your plan, but I need to know the cost and it has to be coming from the pockets of all of us. Even the poorest on welfare need to pay their fair share, right?
What it costs, Dude … what it costs.
We can discuss the lack of fiscal effectiveness in our governing bodies. There certainly is some. But the aim, the goal, is only argued by mean people.
And I’m sick of this “poor people don’t pay any taxes” bull. This poor person cleared $43K last year. (In the Bay Area, this constitutes impoverishment.) My government, in all it’s myriad permutations took $9,955, and they will be keeping all but $670 of it.
With that kind of money they really ought to be able to do better. Sigh.
Tina, where are you? I want to see if I can get you to comprehend this. I, too, have my follies. I’ve tried this many times, and never succeeded.
Scenario 1: The government takes $10K from someone’s $40K leaving 30K live on.
Scenario 2: The government takes $80M from someone’s $100M, leaving $10M to live on.
Who is getting fiscally reamed here?
And this is how you pay for completely and competently staffed group homes for the crazies.
$20M to live on … I mis-typed.
“Completely and competently staffed, community integrated, group homes. This is what will work … but you will not pay for it. End of discussion.”
This was the idea that ended the warehousing. It did not work. The mentally ill people wandered off and didn’t come back. Once off the meds they disappeared into the night never to be seen again.
Warehousing works to keep people off the streets. The point being, walls and locked gates work to achieve the specific result of securing the health and safety of these poor unfortunate people.
As to the errors of the past, I would imagine that unannounced surprise inspections would do wonders.
Also, the left needs to grow up and understand that dealing with violent patients sometimes calls for strong arm methods and the use of restraints. You can’t let such patients run around freely to prey on others.
As to your personal question…I won’t be around much over the next few months due to my busy schedule that involves getting the hell out of this progressive, insensitive, intolerant, tyrannical, freedom hating, insolvent, incompetently run state.
You won’t face the facts so it’s useless to talk with you about such matters.
Even though I am left behind in this over taxed, overregulated, progressive utopia AKA a “S” hole dictatorship, I find it personally gratifying to know that at least some of my dear friends had the wherewithal to escape to a better place. Their timing couldn’t have been better. Now I can only wish them all the best in their new red, white and blue, conservative states where the U.S. Constitution is still a highly valued part of state government and not just a reviled document, an impediment, to their socialist power grab.
” … a “S” hole dictatorship, ….”
Cranky, cranky. You live in a democracy … wherein you are ideologically out-numbered. This might be emotionally frustrating … but NOBODY is coming after your stuff.
I just found out that if you live in a “S” hole house, in LA, your neighbors can report said “S” hole house to the city … which will then cite and fine you for your peeling paint and clogged up gutters. I had no idea. And I do consider that to be a bit much. If you are paying hundreds to the city, where are you going to get any money to paint your house? It don’t make no sense.
I just found out that in San Diego, if you live in your RV, you will be relentlessly ticketed and fined right out of said RV, into the jail, and then onto the street. I had no idea.
Being a poor person in this state is a bitch. You, Jack, have NOTHING to complain about.
“The mentally ill people wandered off and didn’t come back.”
Ah, now we get into the weeds! They do indeed do just that. But a completely staffed facility … better a group of facilities … they do a bed-check, and if somebody’s missing, staff hit the road in the van, coordinating with our future generations of law enforcement professionals who are more social worker than cop, and round them up.
This is serious business, I’m talking here. In Loco Parentis to the Nth Degree. It is not quite legal yet … but we are working on it.
Toodles.
What Do We Do With Crazy People?
Send them to Libby’s house. They will be right at home there.
And your new governor Gabby Nuisance just announced a new tax on water.
And the new super majority in the legislature is drawing up plans to lower the threshold needed to raise taxes.
This is the beginning of an orgy of tax increases. And how could it be any other way? The state has hundreds of billions in unfunded liabilities. And Gabby Nuisance has proclaimed this state a sanctuary state for all. Who is going to pay for that and all the other campaign promises Nuisance has made? YOU!
“Portland property crimes rose 15% in 2017. Its property crime rates easily outpace Boston and Denver, and put it on a par with dangerous cities like Atlanta. Its homeless blight has put Portland on the same path as San Francisco, New York and Los Angeles. Portland’s Downtown Clean and Safe had picked up less than 9,897 used needles in 2015. This year it’s 39,000. Garbage and biohazards have also increased.
Car thefts are up 45% in two years. In Mayor Wheeler’s State of the City address this year, he mentioned a “97 percent increase in stolen vehicle calls” in 5 years. There was also a “64 percent increase in unwanted persons calls and a 32 percent increase in disorder calls.” ”
From here–
http://sultanknish.blogspot.com/2019/01/escape-from-portland.html
______________________________________
Sometimes, life does not come wrapped in unicorns and rainbows. There are hard choices to be made between solutions that are imperfect. In my experience, this pretty much rules out the today’s left.
Those who are not rational need to be in an institution. Who gets to make that decision? I don’t have that answer, and I don’t want that job.
So, what do we do? Perhaps there is a lesson here—
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51FkOBHkUdw
R … why do you only ever source blogs? Could it be that not even Alt-Right news sources are “right” enough for you?
But I do wish you could be got to see that Joe Blow out there, screeding his blog, in a manner that re-enforces your views … this is not “news”, not “journalism” at all … fake or otherwise.
These blogs and youtubes and whatnot are, therefore, useless in proving the legitimacy of your views. A sensible person does not click on them, anyway, for fear of exposing their poor PC to something malicious.
Read it and weep…Demovictims…
Things Democrats Have Funded that Cost More than the Border Wall
https://news.grabien.com/story-things-democrats-have-funded-cost-more-border-wall
Good one Joe!
I got to get back to work to pay my taxes so they can be spent on things like this:
The feds spent $613,634 to boost “intimacy and trust” of transgender women and their male partners.
More Demorat victims…
Democrats feel illegal immigrants who ignore our laws are more American than you are
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/tucker-carlson-democrats-feel-illegal-immigrants-who-ignore-our-laws-are-more-american-than-you-are
In one corner, we have immigrants coming to America for a better life.
In another, we have…people trying to stop them from doing it.
Yeah, they’re more American than you, at least when it comes to values.
Trust Chris to spout a pile of bilge!
There’s a LEGAL way to come to the US but those that choose to break our laws and sneak in are criminals and should be treated accordingly, regardless of age.
So all these people have houses or can afford apartments? What about health insurance? What about transportation, food, clothes and then all the necessities for their kids including education?
So who is going to pay for all that?
Yeah, those American taxpayers you call un-American.
Or why don’t you open up your house to them? How about you let them use your car for a few years? How about you financially sponsor one of then?
This country can’t even afford to take care of the people already here, yet you want millions more to come.
The problems of Honduras, Guatemala, Mexico, the rest of Latin America and the rest of the world for that matter CANNOT BE SOLVED BY MOVING THEIR PEOPLE HERE!
Of course you don’t care about that. All you and the rest of the Demorats care about is the fact that all these immigrants guarantee the Demorats will be in power for generations as these immigrants overwhelmingly vote for DemoRats.