Over at Confessions of a Street Pharmacist Dive Medic points out that cops are a waste of money. He provides excellent evidence that police cost us more than they save us. He’s right, of course.
The thing is, he’s looking at it from the wrong direction. Police aren’t an investment *we’re* making — they’re an investment the government is making, and for them it’s paying off quite nicely.
A cop could spend a day investigating a car break-in, and maybe even catch the guy, and all they’d get is several hours of paperwork and maybe a low-level misdemeanor charge. Or he could site there on the side of the road and write traffic tickets, and bring in thousands of dollars for his city. And if he does that long enough, he’ll get promoted to the drug team, where civil forfeiture brings in millions of dollars for police offices across the country. Which do you think the bosses want? As long as the skells aren’t hurting too many civilians, and not too many cars get broken into, it’s much more profitable for them to go where the money is. And it has the added value of keeping the citizens under a little bit more control.
That VIPR roadblock in Texas? That certainly wasn’t about terrorism. The police were thrilled, though — they made eight “quality” arrests — mostly of drug possession, and a few for prostitution. The people of Houston are sure safer now that those people are off the street.
Back when he was running for office Obama said he’d let the states decide on medical marijuana. Yet his justice department is still routinely raiding dispensaries, and stealing as much as possible through asset forfeiture.
And that’s the reason the drug war will never end. If it ended today, we’d save what? 40 or 50 billion dollars? That’s nothing, because all of the oversized, overpaid, and over-armed departments of drug warriors will all have to get honest jobs, and nobody wants to be the one signing their pink slips.
Hah! I’ve been saying the same thing for years. The VERY LAST people who want to see the “War On Drugs” won are the DEA. Too many pencil pushing bureaucrats would end up on the unemployment line if that ever happened. The logic is so simple Helen Keller could see it. The same thing applies to all the other “Wars” our government has declared over the years.
War On Poverty..
War On Racism…
War On Terror…
War On Illiteracy…
War On Crime…
The Wars on ________________ (fill in the blank line) end up becoming cottage industries and cash-cows for quasi government institutions.
All of these “Wars” do is bring out the Ron Paul and Libertarian in me. In the end, the “Wars” all become feel-good bullshit and allow the politicians to have it both ways. I’m beyond cynical when it comes to government feel-good bullshit.. I’m jaded.
Yep. Even the newfangled “Republican War on Women™” is just a transparent attempt to reduce our freedoms and take our money.
You know, Rich, I’m not so sure that’s the case anymore. Yeah you, like most of us, were jaded in the past. However, I think we’re seeing a lot of people going from jaded to really, really pissed. And I think that’s a good thing.