More commentary on the news. Some of the motivation behind my rants.

I read an article about how emergency rooms are having to deal with the homeless and mentally ill because of budget cuts eliminating state programs. This is another example of how not doing things right ends up costing you more in the end.

Many of my rants are about how we are not doing things right, doing what is easy or convenient for the short term but ignoring the long term cost. Problems don't just go away because you want them to. People with mental illnesses don't just disappear because you cut funding for a program. They continue to exist and will get their needs met elsewhere, in this case by showing up in emergency rooms where the cost of treating them is much higher both in money terms and in terms of services not rendered to people who really need emergency treatment.

Suppose you had a mental illness. You can't get a job, the state has cut out all programs to help, and your relatives have all disappeared. You can't get the medication you need for treatment so you slip further and further from reality. You have no home and winter is here. You have no food except what you can dig out of trash cans or beg. Showing up in the emergency room for treatment of the various illnesses that appear gets you food, shelter, and medication. Sure it costs a ton but you don't have an address so they can't send you a bill. Can't get into the emergency room? Well breaking a few windows or mugging somebody will get you into jail. That also gets you food and shelter. Maybe even medication. That also costs a ton but the state pays for that. You lose your freedom but you won't starve.

My point here is that doing that there is no free lunch. You can't make a problem go away by ignoring it and trying almost always costs more in the long run than dealing with it properly in the first place. As a society we should deal with the problems we have and strive for the best solution so our society can progress.