On Tue, 11 Aug 2009 22:50:25 -0400, Dave Smith wrote:

> Goomba wrote:
>
>> There is a lot of blame placed on Reagan here that is hardly his fault.
>> During the time he's accused of de-institutionalizing psych patients,
>> ALL states were cutting their funding (NOT just California) and this all
>> began before Reagan became president.
>
> We had the same thing up here. There was a time when people who were
> unable to take care of themselves or who were a danger to themselves
> were committed to institutions. Some thought that was bad thing so they
> let a lot of them out. Now they are roaming the streets and have no
> place to stay. Then there are the pan handlers who tend to be young
> people who left their homes in smaller towns and cities and headed to
> larger cities where pickings were better for panhandling and they fell
> into a bad life.
>
> It wasn't that long ago that there were vagrancy laws. We didn't have
> street people back then because they would toss them in jail.

are there no prisons? are there no workhouses?

your pal,
eben