Especially in the case of the homeless. Joe Katzman at Winds of Change explains:
Most of the homeless I see on the streets of Toronto have one of 2 problems: mental illness, or substance abuse. Remove those cases from the homeless population, and the numbers fall dramatically. This is patently obvious to anyone who so much as walks on Toronto's streets, yet it's almost never addressed in debate. Which means the root causes are never really addressed - and that's just cruel.
Joe recognizes the true causes of the massive increase in homelessness: the elimination of vagrancy laws, mental patient deinstitutionalization, and a tolerance for substance abuse. You bring back the vagrancy laws, enact strict substance abuse programs in prisons, and put people with mental health problems in facilities where they can get medication, counseling, three meals a day, and a roof over their heads, and I guarantee you that you will solve 2/3 of the homeless problem right there.
Of couse, try telling that to the asshats running Toronto, Vancouver, San Francisco, Portland, OR, Albuquerque, NM, Austin, TX, Madison, WI, and Washington DC.
It is possible to care too much. Compassion Kills.
Posted by Thief at September 23, 2003 04:50 AM