I was speaking figuratively. It's way past time when we should have done something to prevent all this.
Problem is, no one wants to do anything until a problem becomes glaringly huge. Before then, anyone with the aptitude and foresight to see where it's gonna lead, are told to sit down and shut up. That everything's fine.
You're right about this. Earlier today I was looking through my news feed. There were several different stories about "shoplifting on steroids" in different places across America. And they weren't in big cities. Also, some crazy (and sad) stories about homelessness
It's happening everywhere. As for the homeless, they're everywhere too.
I see 'em all the time in certain parts of town. They tend to keep 'em moving here though. No big giant camps of them in public areas. See 'em sleeping on benches and whatnot. Occasional tent. For the most part they set up their stuff in the small wooded areas around town. Which really sucks for the neighborhood kids, as it's not safe to go play in those wooded areas like me and my friends did when we were kids. Building forts, making trails, climbing trees, playing army, or just exploring. Stuff like that. Nowadays kids would have a good chance of finding homeless camps.
Like I said, I do not know what the answer is
Would you think that more of the same policies that got us the results we are seeing, might be the answer?
You can't have people walking around without money in their pockets. And there simply isn't a job for everyone who needs one.
So why on God's green Earth is the current administration hell bent on letting in as many low/no skill workers into the country as they possibly can?
If, as you admit, that there simply isn't jobs for all, don't you question the policies allowing so many more people in who will all need a job at some point? How does that help you and I and our families and neighbors?
....and those millions of people coming in all need a place to live too, and that increases demand in an already strained housing and rents market.
No! That would only cause more people to want to come here. We need to do stuff that discourages them from wanting to come here in the first place.
You know, like the stuff Trump did.
People who are addicted to drugs are not criminals.
No, not for merely doing the drugs. On that, I agree. People should have the Right to do whatever they want to their own bodies.
So what do you do? Lock them up at taxpayers expense?
Yes, but not for the drugs. You lock 'em up for the crimes they commit in pursuit of the money they need to BUY the drugs.
.....or the crimes they commit as a result of having used the drugs.
Only if they really really want it.
if they don't really want it, it won't work. As soon as they are released, they'll be on the phone to their dealer.
and try to help them find employment and a place to live?
Again, only if they truly want help.
As for the shoplifters? Should we lock all of them up? What about when they get released?
Yes, lock them up for the amount of time the law says they get.
Ie: no plea deals for reduced sentences, no time off the sentence for any reason. If the law says 20 years, they get 20 years.
.....and do that for all violations where an actual victim exists. Ie: someone whose property or person was damaged, not what are referred to as "victimless crimes". Those should become non-crimes.
The punishment has to be harsh enough that it makes 'em not want to do what they did to get locked up in the first place.
As it stands now, too many see jail time as simply being street cred.
How about housing for the addicts and the homeless? Where do we put them?
In camps. Give 'em a choice. Either clean up on their own and fix their life, or come live in our work camp.
....but whatever it is, let them know that camping along the streets and in every nook and cranny around town will not be tolerated.
One thing is for sure: Uncle Walt was right about teaching morality. We used to teach it a long time ago...........need to bring it back in spades.
Decades ago. Look how long it's taken to see the fruit of
that decision.
Which is a good example of what I'm talking about when I say it takes time for the rotten fruit of bad governmental policies to rear their ugly heads.
I wish I had the answers, but I don't. Maybe we need to take a look at other countries and see how they deal with this? I think a good place to start may be northern Europe? Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland? May be worth a shot?
How about just going back to what we did before we changed a bunch of stuff that resulted in the problems we see?
.....but a lot of people don't want to do that because relative to today, those were all very conservative-minded policies.
How about you? Any ideas?
Yea. Go back to the more conservative policies of the past that generated the results that made this nation great to begin with.