So, if we really want to cut out unnecessary spending to reduce the deficit, here are a few no-brainers:
- Abstinence-only sex education. We have wasted more than $1.5 billion dollars on trying to convince teenagers to not have sex. Unsurprisingly, it hasn’t worked. In fact, since we started teaching abstinence instead of contraception, the downward trend in teenage pregnancies has reversed and started going back up.
- Federal raids on medical marijuana clinics. Obama promised to end raids on otherwise-legal medical marijuana clinics, but they continue.
- Five billion dollars every year in federal subsidies to big oil companies, which the companies themselves say they don’t need as long as oil prices are above $70 a barrel.
- Weapons systems that even the military doesn’t want. We just spent another $13 billion dollars on this insanity.
6 Comments
89% of people jailed for possession of pot only had enough for personal use. Stop that insanity and you will save a fortune.
Yeah, good point. Legalizing marijuana and getting all those people out of jail would save a TON of money.
I agree, however most 1st offense personal use (under 1 oz) possessions never do jail time, at least in my state. Most 2nd or 3rd for that matter. It is a waste of time for the officers, prosecuters, DOCs and Prob/Parole officials to go after someone for a 1 yr sentence that almost always gets reduced to 30 days with 30 days suspended. The federal task force I work with just ignores small weed amounts because it’s too much paperwork for essentially nothing.
Cutting the cost of arrest and prosecution is only part of it, getting the revenue from taxation would makes it a double winner.
Suprisingly, alot of law enforcement are actually leaning more towards support of legalization (I guess similarly like the shift towards acceptance of gay marriage).
Plus everyone who grows a corn field can grow marijuana. Less farm subsidies. I think if we grow marijuana at home, no one would be interested in getting it from Mexico. The side effects from marijuana are no where near what they are from alcohol or cigarettes. Many studies, don’t happen to have one on hand. Plus while I would never smoke, I love the smell.
New York is working on doing away with the Nelson Rockerfeller laws.
It’s too bad that “no brainer” does not equal “not controversial”. I would have thought that at least #4 was not controversial, but the House proved me wrong 🙂
And then you could tax it, too.
win-win-win!