Okay, I had this idea, and I think it's a good one, and it takes care of both the War on Drugs (which nearly everyone thinks isnt working, except the GOP) and the high cost of medicine (which almost everyone thinks is unfair, except the GOP).
Here's the idea: legalize recreational drugs, with heavy regulation, high taxation, and fixed low(ish) prices. Republicans are always talking about how regulation is so horrible for business, and yet recreational drugs are one of the most unregulated businesses on the planet (making something illegal is not regulation, not for drug dealers, and not for CEOs). Anyone who wishes to deal in recreational drugs will have to be licensed (for a fat fee), and their product will have to conform to standards (and I mean for the purposes of consistancy, not dilution). There will be a heavy tax rate, but, by regulation, prices will be kept fairly low in order to make crime less necessary in order to get money to pay for the drugs with and to make the current black market unprofitable.
But you're saying, "Dave, we've heard all this before, it's
not original."
Maybe this part will interest you: The manufacturing of drugs will be placed in the hands of the Pharmaceutical Industry. In exchange for this constant supply of money, Big Pharma will agree to have strict controls placed upon the prices of medicine. They will also cease and desist
all advertising and marketing of drugs, especially for non-FDA approved uses.
Some rules:
- no R&D on recreational drugs.
- any new rec drug formula becomes property of the State.
- any pharma company found developing or colluding with development of new rec drugs is heavily fined and loses privledge of rec drug trade.
- selling drugs without a license becomes a really hard-time penalty.
- rec drug stores set up with same kind of rules as liquor stores: age limits, distances from schools, etc.
- the same kind of rules will apply to driving under the influence as now apply to drunk driving (yeah, I know...)
- much stricter penalties will apply for repeat offenders and those caught driving after they've lost their licenses for a DUI.
Naturally, there will be those who will oppose this idea on "moral" grounds, but I think that these people may be overcome through the use of the "lottery" arguement. I mean, gambling is considered to be both destructive and immoral, but how many states now have their own lottery*? And, in a way, doesnt the taxes paid on recreational drugs become a voluntary tax, much like the lottery, and with a very similar empty result?
Let's face it, the war on drugs has been a
dismal failure, costing
billions of dollars, and has almost nothing to show for it, except overcrowded prisons. Let's repeal the laws against it, declare amnesty for all but the biggest dealers (for instance, those who were busted on tax charges), and save ourselves billions of dollars per year, which we can then put to better use, like paying for pointless wars half way around the globe.
*
And how many states passed lotteries under the guise of raising money for "education"? HA!
I find myself wondering, as oil prices hit yet another record high, what position America might be in had it invested a half a trillion dollars (or more) in alternative energy sources, rather than throwing it away on a largely futile attempt to maintain the status quo?
There's more of the cartoon if you click on the image. There's more Big Fat Whale if you click here.
Okay, so, sometime during the Dutch Renaissance, they had a huge fad for tulips, and I'm talking huge. They were totally ga-ga over tulips, to the point that a single bulb (of the right variety) could bring the price of a house. Then one day, the fad collapsed, as most fads do. The story of the collapse I heard was this: One day, a merchant (himself a tulip collector) was looking out the window at the marketplace. Alang came a sailor, looking for whatever sailors look for. He stopped at a tulip merchant and, thinking that the tulip bulbs were onions, picked one up and took a bite. Supposedly, seeing this, the collector said to himself, "Oh my God! They're just flowers!" He dumped his stock, and probably said the same thing to friends, panic ensued, and lots of people lost their shirts, etc.
This one's from a folder full of cartoons that I've cut out of papers in the past. I'm not sure how old it is, maybe from a few years ago, maybe from 30 years ago. It's most likely from the late 80's sometime, during the Reagan years. It still holds true, though, more true than ever.
Last November, almost a year ago, people all over the nation who were fed up with the erosion of the Constitution by the Republican party led by George Bush, rubbed their hands with glee as election returns showed a clear victory by Democrats. Finally, we said, we can roll back the fascist powerplays by Lord Bush and his Cabal. Alas, it was not to be, and it continues not to be. Again and again, the Democrats have continued the betrayal of the American people begun by the Republicans. Now they stand ready to continue that betrayal further, by extending the clearly unconstitutional warrentless wiretapping program. Does anyone in Washington listen to anyone outside of Washington anymore?
Long ago, there was this strip in the paper called "Dave". I read it daily, mostly because it seemed to channel my life. Nowadays, it's no where to be found, except really, really cheaply on Amazon.
The artist, Joey Waldon, was/is an Austin comedian, who did these comics in the Austin Chronicle and had/has t-shirts available. Where he is now, Google couldnt tell me.
