These guys are a menace when present, and openly sell drugs in the lobby and out in front of the clinic with the full (fearful) knowledge of clinic staff, who are of course deathly afraid to report the activity. The State requires the clinic to “treat” these vermin in order to maintain their State-funded contracts, and will pay for the gang members to be bussed and “treated”, but won’t pay for security personnel to be hired by the clinic, so this situation goes on unchecked. The clinic’s upper management – who of course work in an office building 30 miles from the clinic itself – don’t seem to care as long as they’re paid on time by the State.

I shudder to think how much worse this is in the cities.

Knowing that entitlements and social services in California are far more comprehensive than here, it’s no mystery at all to me that they’re on the verge of bankruptcy – with the rest of the Republic close behind.

Chris Cree – likewise, State social services systems are built to keep people dependent upon them. Once supported by this system there are numerous mechanisms in place that will actively penalize a recipient for trying to become self-sufficient. The problem in large part is caused by a conflict of interests in the mental health care provider area and the bureaucracies responsible for managing the cases.

Clinics can actively prevent a person from going back to work by declaring them ‘unfit’ once they’re in the system. I personally know of at least three individuals who are prevented from earning their own living because State mandated psych evals keep coming back “unfit”. Conveniently, the clinic which controls their psych eval continues to receive payment for their ongoing treatment. One person, who was originally admitted after and attempted suicide, following a nasty divorce where he was literally taken for everything he owned (a business, home, cars, boat, custody of his toddlers), has been trapped in this situation for almost ten years! State funds have been supporting this individual 100% throughout that time. He is legally not allowed to work!

To add insult to injury, many clinics now have their own internal pharmacies. Think about that. The clinic controls who’s prescribed what and then bills the State and/or insurance companies for the retail cost of a drug they purchase wholesale. No formularies, of course. Patients are routinely prescribed between two and five SSRIs, Abilify, Ambien, Lunesta, high BP meds if they’re over 120/80, insulin treatments for (I sh!t you not) “pre-diabetes” if they’re “overweight” (who isn’t?). The list goes on, again, endlessly.

It is utter madness – we’re talking Hieronymus Bosch madness – created by bureaucracy and lack of accountability (but I repeat myself). The biggest part of the problem, and the reason no one thinks of doing anything about it, is that the entire system is seen by those in the system (i.e., those who receive their paycheck from the system OR who are supported by the system via entitlement) as paid for by… State funds, not taxpayers like me.

I was actually reprimanded at one point because I achieved full readiness before all the training dollars were spent. They told me it was like the Price Is Right. I had to spend it all without going over or we wouldn’t get as much money next year.

The government budgeting system is built to penalize efficiency.

To say that all government money is stolen, rather than earned, is preposterous.

This kind of situation is beyond infuriating (and as you note, we all know of them in our own communities). And then, on top of it, we are routinely lectured for our lack of compassion and greed.

In my opinion, your comments clearly illustrate that the lack of compassion (for one’s own family) and greed is the main problem on the other end of this pipeline–at the trough.

Recently I had the misfortune to be lectured by a Russian immigrant (now a naturalized U.S. Citizen) about the fact that America is presently no better off than post-Soviet Russia, and that this is due in large part to the fact that there are no social services.

My mouth dropped open, as I have the additional misfortune of hearing, first-hand, of numerous maddening situations in which social services are not only available, but regularly abused. The following is just one typical case in point among literally hundreds of which I’m aware:

First, we have a woman whose younger son has been placed in foster care and whose ex-husband was awarded custody of her older son due to her drug abuse, which led to a physical condition for which she now receives full SSDI support and … State funds. This includes a fully paid efficiency apartment (which runs some $1800/mo) and paid livery service (typically some $150+ per day) to take her wherever the State mandates she go in order to qualify for assistance. Her medical and psych care, as well as a boatload of pharmaceutical prescriptions, are all likewise paid 100% by… State funds.

The foster family caring for the younger son receives $2700/mo. in… State funds, for maintenance of the child. The woman has quit her job because if she works her wages will be garnished for child support. The woman’s eldest, an 18-year-old daughter, is pregnant and presently subsisting on 100% … State funds. The daughter is worried about what will happen when her child is born because she’ll no longer qualify for the assistance she’s getting after the birth. This is because the father of her child – a 38-year-old legal immigrant – lives with his young girlfriend and is supported by her… State funds. He refuses to work because his wages would be garnished for child support of three other children by three separate women.

During a recent discussion with this woman (the mother of the three), attempts were made to explain to her that State funds are actually taxpayer money. She was completely and utterly unable to comprehend or accept this, asserting to the point of a mild tantrum that she was being supported by… State funds, not by taxpayers.

I haven’t yet decided which of these makes me want to blow my own brains out most: the fact that I’m paying for so many cases like the one described above, the fact that incompetent State bureaucracy actually facilitates this social services abuse, the fact that so many people fail to understand the source of State funds, or my Russian friend’s myopia.

They’ve taken over quite a few.