Print friendly
E-mail story
Tip Us Off
iPod friendly
Comments
Bookmark This
del.icio.us.
Digg!
furl
google
newsvine
reddit
technorati
Facebook
Yahoo!I keep hearing about how Reagan shut down all the mental health hospitals, causing the mentally ill to be forced out onto the streets of America. I would like to refresh the minds of all of the Democrats and liberals out there as to what really happened during that time period.
The liberal's and Democrats felt sorry for the mentally ill, whom they felt should not be locked up. They should be able to be free if they so choose. They put into place a means by which patients could sign themselves out of the facilities. Live on their own, check in with a doctor, and get pills. Ah freedom. Patients checked out in droves. Soon the hospitals could no longer afford to stay open as they didn't have the funds given to them by the government for taking care of the mentally ill. It became worse and worse until Reagan had to shut down the government facilities.
So when liberals complain about how the Republican party pushed the mentally ill out to the streets, better look at how this began and why it came about.
Previous Month
Comments
Discussion Guidelines
Good point. The yippies also need to know that the 1969 Lanterman Act was enacted by two compassionate republicans; Frank Lanterman and Ronald Reagan.
It set forth a law that gave the developmentally disabled the right to obtain services and support to live like people who don't have a disability.
As a society, we do need to take care of those who cannot care for themselves. The rub in that is that progressive types define the above as just about everyone.
A friend of mine recently said "One day we will all be either working for, or taking from the government." Sad.
azuresees (anonymous profile)
June 12, 2008 at 6:10 a.m. (Suggest removal)
One point does not preclude another--it could very well have been a combination of Reagan's budget cuts combined with equal idealism coming from the liberal side. Sometimes BOTH sides can contribute to a problem.
Reagan was a long time ago, and his opposition has had a long time to correct whatever mistakes he made and clearly they have not done that so who is to blame for the fact that mentally ill people still wander in droves throughout S.B.'s streets without a decent safe place to sleep?
billclausen (anonymous profile)
June 12, 2008 at 2:17 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Post a comment