It’s pointless arguing with people who think that anytime the government spends money on anything, it’s an example of socialism, and any time the government doesn’t do anything, it’s an example of unadulterated free market capitalism.
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That’s not what I think, but ok. It’s all the democrats fault.
Ok can you explain in why a local government dealing with a public health issue involving people who pose a threat to themselves and the community and in many cases are incapable of taking care of themselves due to mental illness and substance abuse would constitute a “socialist solution”?
I was being facetious since the common complaint is that liberal cities are just throwing money at the problem, and this sounded like throwing more money. Not that it couldn’t work, but I’d bet you’d still face plenty of resistance by forcing people and their right to choose to go to rehab or not. This is why instead of forcing people, cities (in Europe too) have tried other approaches like needle exchanges and actually legalizing small amounts administered in a clinical setting.
I don’t know what the solution is but I’ve never heard a GOP lawmaker come forward with one. It’s all blame democrats for every problem that a city has. Cities naturally have these problems nothing to do with party affiliation. And if we just all voted in Republicans the problem would go away. They’d need to actually stand for some kind of policy before I believe that.
Well, the solution is not to tolerate and even normalize public defecation, drug use, pan-handling, homeless encampments, car break-ins, etc.
You can read about the policies in SF. They’re well-documented. They literally invited and then amplified the behavior that has made SF a laughing stock. Homelessness and drug abuse are challenging problems for which there are few easy solutions, but SF literally did everything you would expect a city wanting to deal with them not to do, and it spent a fortune doing so.
Years ago I was at an event and was talking to a couple of SFPD officers. They were talking about how the homeless got better treatment than they did. There were even events at Bill Graham Civic Auditorium where homeless people could get free massages.
The bottom line is that letting mentally ill people shit and shoot up anywhere they want as they spiral down into a personal abyss is no more compassionate than locking them up so that the rest of society doesn’t have to go into the abyss with them.
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The stupidity goes deeper than Covid. It’s as if a dark cloud is hanging over the U.S. these days and it can’t do anything right anymore. The “solution” to 911 was the giant clusterfuck in Iraq. Hurricane Katrina was a giant clusterfuck from beginning to end. The Great Recession was a self-inflicted financial clusterfuck of historic proportions. The response to Covid is a world-class clusterfuck. Electing a narcissistic jackass was bad enough but replacing him with a 78-year-old career politician in cognitive decline as if that’s somehow better is just another shot in the foot – unless you believe Biden really is America’s best and brightest.
At some point the U.S. needs to consider the real possibility that it just isn’t working anymore and start looking into selling itself off for parts.
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It’s already done that to a degree. Literally. Years ago, there was a huge business in dismantling factories in the US and shipping them to other countries. Friend of a friend made a fortune helping companies do this.
True dat.
We have an education problem in the US. Seriously people should not still be mining coal FFS. And Trump only served to appease them and make empty promises instead of telling them what they need to hear. Production has been moving overseas for decades. That didn’t just happen all at once. The solution is an educated workforce that is able to cope with these changes. And manufacturing should be focused on highly specialized, high tech manufacturing where the US can excel. In the 1960s NASA inspired people to study science and engineering. Now all our engineers come from India and China. Americans would rather study art history or basket weaving.
Empty promises and protectionist policies from the 1930s just set us back another few years. Time to wake up. Globalization of markets is inevitable. Fighting it is pointless. Embrace the future and educate yourself with the skills required to compete.
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I agree with many parts of what you say. The US made a huge mistake by letting other countries take over certain industries, like specialized, high-tech manufacturing.
Globalization is obviously a real thing and every country and individual needs to deal with it, but the bigger issue is that the underpinnings of post-WW2 globalism are inherently unsustainable and will be the end of our species if we don’t figure out a better model. Different subject for a different thread.
Intel is outsourcing is semiconductor manufacturing to TSMC because it no longer has the engineering expertise to manufacture cutting-edge chip technology. Semiconductors is one of the few high tech industries the U.S. still dominates but the sun is setting on that too.
Despite (Intel CEO) Swan’s claims to the contrary, industry analysts are warning that it’s going to be the end for Intel’s internal factories if it does entrust TSMC for manufacturing.
“No one’s been able to make it work that way,” said one analyst in response to Swan’s claims that a hybrid (i.e., first party and third party) process can work. “That’s like having two spouses,” he continued, noting that “it’s too expensive to maintain internal factories while outsourcing the most valuable technology.”
“Once they start going down this path it’s almost impossible to go back because it creates its own momentum.”
Total…disconnect…with…reality.
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You’re kind of late to the party. I get it you’re obsessed with San Fransisco as the harbinger of all things terrible about liberals.
Whatever happened to Chicago? Haven’t heard much about that anymore.
A few years back, someone published a book called Crap Towns : The 50 Worst Places to Live in the UK. Maybe we need a thread for the worst cities in America?
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Still a war zone with no leadership in sight…
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Thanks a lot Obama!
Obama was corrupted by Chicago, not the other way round.
And Mississippi is still a shit hole. Don’t see me running around saying it’s because all Republican policies are terrible, and we’d be better off with one party rule.
Careful… 
About what? Offending people from Mississippi? But it’s ok to offend people from Chicago…got it. I’ve already shown there is no proven causation between party affiliation and violent crime. Sorry.