Categories
Accountability folly general freedom too much government

How Dare You Say We Waste Our Time?

Sharing

Businessmen tend to be extremely concerned about efficiency, even to the point of talking incessantly about things like “performance metrics.”

Bureaucrats? Not so much.

Indeed, the merest suggestion that a program isn’t cutting the mustard can bring on protests of outrage. John Payne, writing on The Lesson Applied, caught my attention to one such instance. Quoting from the Associated Press, he reveals the passion and “logic” of former “drug czar” John Walters:

“To say that all the things that have been done in the war on drugs haven’t made any difference is ridiculous,” Walters said. “It destroys everything we’ve done. It’s saying all the people involved in law enforcement, treatment and prevention have been wasting their time.”

Payne’s no-​nonsense response? “Yes, that is exactly what critics of the drug war are saying.”

Why did Walters take such umbrage? Could it be to intimidate us into not thinking about the evidence that drug-​war critics present? Or questioning the logic of the whole program?

And the logic is a tad shaky: Allegedly to prevent some people from ruining their lives, we ruin those lives and many, many others. 

Hundreds of thousands of people in prison. Billions in property confiscated without due process. Innocents shot in no-​knock raids — including dogs, little girls … and the police themselves from innocent Americans defending themselves from seemingly anonymous attackers in the night. 

Drug abuse can be very bad. I know. But Constitution-​abuse can be worse.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

9 replies on “How Dare You Say We Waste Our Time?”

The end always justifies.

The feelings are paramount, whether they yield the desired results or not.
Drug wars don’t work, but no one will stop renewing the drug war programs(like DARE)
Cell phones(apparently) don’t distract significantly. Bad drivers are still bad drivers, they just find other ways to drive badly.
A study shows that the distraction from hands free is nearly identical to the handed phone, but governments don’t change the law.
Speed limits don’t significantly prevent accidents, or control speeds, as drivers tend to drive at a safe speed naturally, and the ones that don’t drive at a safe speed tend to wipe themselves out, and tickets don’t affect that. Although tickets certainly bring in local income.
Bad social programs always get renewed.
Financing fatherless families generates multiple problems, many of the major ones in our society. Try to get THAT stopped for the last 50 years.

And now, the ultimate touchy-​feely group hug, the good for everybody, spread the wealth around even if it kills the goose, collectivism of progressives. Even if it had never worked in human society. Even if it increases poverty, corruption, and ultimately despair. Even if it has always resulted in increasely violent retaliation against those who say nay, even to their death. 

The END. Look at the END. So pretty. So worthwhile. So almost acheiveable, if only we could get a better species, a slightly better, less human, human. Even if we have to tear down a system that could work, if we didn’t continue corrupting it. Always easier to start by blowing a few things up, even if we don’t understand how complicated it is to get a system to work at all, let alone well.

Road to hell…

The one (and Absolutely ONLY!) “drug war” tactic that would ensure absolute victory, absolutely immediately, against all domestic and foreign drug-​related crime, is the immediate and absolute repeal of prohibition. 

And as a bonus and particularly among juveniles, drug usage would be cut in half. 

And very soon thereafter?

In half again.

Wanna make a serious dent in the amount of drugs available in America? Really?
Then build the entire border long two layered fence with Mexico. It may not stop them, since nothing will, but it will seriously deplete the supply to the extent, we will save billions & the drug cartels would leave Mexico looking for another safe haven where they can try to make a profit!

Follow the money. Who benefits from the drug war?

Police in the enforcement business
The DEA
Prison owners and employees
Terrorist groups who get their funding from illegal drugs
Corrupt politicians in on the take (consider Mexico’s siding with the Siniloan drug cartel)
Drug dealers — who wouldn’t have such a profitable job without the war

Do we really want to support these groups via making drugs illegal? They can’t even keep drugs out of prison — the drug war is a real bad trip.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *