Can Drugs Have a Positive Affect on Current US Debt Crisis?

Money!!

Do I have your attention?

What is "money"? Well, you say, it depends upon where you are. In Russia it's rubles. In Japan it's yen. In Viet Nam it's baht. Are you sure? "Certainly" you say. "Show me"! As you pull the dollar bill (U.S.) from your pocket I stop you and say "That is NOT money". "Money" does not exist as anything more than a concept. That piece of rag in your hand (not paper) merely represents, in a physical manner, this concept. No matter how you approach the idea "money" is not a physical thing.

When we speak of "money" we are actually talking about agreements between people, in the form of governments, work, trade, marketing and many more complex societal functions establishing the value, in some form or another, of goods and services. Ex. "If you stand here and keep an eye on my Maybach while I grab a bite to eat I'll give you....uh, $5 when I get back,..OK?" See? It's easy to understand that way. Just glad it isn't my Maybach.

I sit here in the dead of night trying to understand how this magnificent country could possibly find itself in the worst possible financial condition of the last 80 years as if the lessons so dearly learned, in the 30's,have been flushed from our collective memory. The debt crisis is so serious that irresponsible mouths in the "Halls of Power" have been heard to mumble about defaulting on the debt. This has elicited warnings from our largest creditor, mainland China "that this was playing with fire". This is while the elected officials whose sworn duty it is to lead this country argue and bicker like little old ladies at a bridge game with marked cards. What happened to all those high-minded ideals tossed about like confetti during the campaign days?

A look at the contributions the US makes to the world community shows us that there are approximately 190 sovereign countries on the planet. Of these, the US contributes some form of aid, monetary or otherwise, to 150 of them. Why borrow money from China and turn around and give it to these 150 instead of letting China do it directly? Why do we support a society to the tune of $200 billion dollars that harbors fiends the like of OBL?

This brings us to our primary focus, the national debt ceiling and the intransigence of our governing bodies to roll up their sleeves and work out a solution that allows this country to honor it's debts to the people first in line, it's citizens, the entity being dragooned into footing the bill for the lack of common sense and venality of their elected representatives.

There are numerous ways we can stem the flow of our tax dollars and all it takes is the exercise of common sense and the impetus to quit being played for fools by most of the rest of the world community.

Let us start with the illegal immigration issue. "Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor, Your Huddled Masses Yearning to Breath Free" is a noble concept but that day has long since passed. As a matter of fact, can you possibly take some of them back because they are stealing my country, with both hands, as fast as they can cram it into offshore banks. We have a big enough problem with our own homegrown thieves like AIG, Enron, Lehman Bros.,Bernie Madoff, etc.The best part of the illegal immigrant problem is it requires no legislation. If you are here you have NO rights as citizens and deportation should be implemented every time we gather a bus load (to cut down on transportation costs).This action would save immense amounts of "money" in the form medical care, social services costs, the cost of arrest and prosecution of illegal aliens and costs of incarceration (an average annual cost of $30,000 per individual, per year). Declare a 25 year moratorium on automatic citizenship for children born to illegal aliens. Review this after 25 years andextend the moratorium if need be. I don't suggest we be heartless, cruel or inhumane but, exactly, what portion of your children's, grandchildren's etc future do you want to forfeit in a futile gesture of magnanimity? In 2010 there were 45,003 people deported for drug offenses and 27,635 people deported for drunken driving. If you are busted you are dusted. As illegals, that first step after arrest should be on the bus and good-bye. For those who disagree, IT IS AGAINST US LAW TO BE AN UNDOCUMENTED ALIEN IN THIS COUNTRY AND NO FURTHER REASON FOR DEPORTATION NEED BE PROVEN.

To address another apalling waste of tax-payer levies (I have a hard time with that word "money") we need look no further than the 40 year fiasco labeled the "War on Drugs". The WOD as an effective means of limiting the public's appetite for that which is forbidden one need only take note of "the world's oldest profession". Does the title tell you ANYTHING? Closer to our time period, we need only to return to the 1920's and assess the efficacy of the "Volstead Act", or as it was quaintly known "prohibition". During it's tenure the only thing it created was death, criminals and several private fortunes large enough to buy respectability, of a left-handed sort. Our very own WOD is entering it's 5th decade and the sum total of it's achievements are many disreputable fortunes of obscene magnitude, myriad ruined lives, the same death and criminals and legions of law enforcement, a significant percentage of whom have a blurred perception of which side of the line they are occupying.... it has been known to change with circumstances.

Between 1980 and 1995 the number of incarcerated, non-violent, offenders quadrupled. With heroin as an exemplar, during this same period the street price of heroin fell 75% and the purity increased 80% in direct antithesis to projected models by enforcement agencies.

Based upon Federal surveys and parameters of states and federal laws 50% of ALL high school seniors in the US are drug criminals and 43% are recurring drug criminals. Which ones do we arrest? Can we justify sending someone to prison at a cost (JUST for warehousing) of c. $30,000 a year for a crime that is not a crime (cannabis) in numerous states?

If we released 50% of all non-violent offenders into community programs, 25% of the total prison population, the net savings would amount to $16,000,000,000+ per year. Sixteen billion here and sixteen billion there and pretty soon you're talking about real "money".

For the record, virtually every, unbiased, responsible study on marijuana has determined it's role as a "gateway drug" has been non-existent. The two major, proven "gateway drugs" are also the biggest killers in the US.

Alcohol and tobacco.