5 ms·

DEA needs to be dismantled. What are useless organization. They are thugs that go after the poor. Founded by Nixon to basically do just that. Some interesting

by x5n1 11y ago

DEA needs to be dismantled. What are useless organization. They are thugs that go after the poor. Founded by Nixon to basically do just that. Some interesting facts: "The total budget of the DEA from 1972 to 2014, according to the agency website, was $50.6 billion." So in 40 years 51 billion dollars, or a billion dollars per year. "In 2005, the DEA seized a reported $1.4 billion in drug trade related assets and $477 million worth of drugs.[20] According to the White House's Office of Drug Control Policy, the total value of all of the drugs sold in the U.S. is as much as $64 billion a year" So basically they are robbing poor and not really making any dent in the drug trade.

leeoniya 11y ago
not to mention how much it costs to support an enormous prison population (largest in the world?) and the permanent toll it has on those with criminal records for drug offenses. do privatized for-profit prisons have a gov't lobby to help fill their cells to max capacity?
- dangerlibrary 11y ago
  Yep. Probably more than one, but a quick google search yielded: http://apcto.org/ http://apcto.org/
- niccaluim 11y ago
  largest in the world? Largest by total number by a huge margin (2.2 million, with the next largest being China with 1.7 million), but we've fallen to the #2 spot when measured per capita. Newly #1 there is Seychelles with about 700 prisoners out of a population of 90,000. Source: http://www.prisonstudies.org/highest-to-lowest/prison_population_rate?field_region_taxonomy_tid=All http://www.prisonstudies.org/highest-to-lowest/prison_popula...
abecedarius 11y ago
They're getting $2 billion/year now, according to Wikipedia. I wonder if your $50.6B is not inflation-adjusted; it struck me as surprisingly 'low'.
- adventured 11y ago
  It's likely not low. The FBI's budget is $8 billion, and the DEA is a small fraction the size of the FBI. I'm rather amazed at the reach of the DEA's activities off of that small of a budget however.
citizensixteen 11y ago
Law enforcement took more stuff from people than burglars did last year. Quote "Here's an interesting factoid about contemporary policing: In 2014, for the first time ever, law enforcement officers took more property from American citizens than burglars did. Martin Armstrong pointed this out at his blog, Armstrong Economics, last week. Officers can take cash and property from people without convicting or even charging them with a crime — yes, really! — through the highly controversial practice known as civil asset forfeiture. Last year, according to the Institute for Justice, the Treasury and Justice departments deposited more than $5 billion into their respective asset forfeiture funds. That same year, the FBI reports that burglary losses topped out at $3.5 billion." https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/11/23/cops-took-more-stuff-from-people-than-burglars-did-last-year/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/11/23/cops-...

by x5n1 11y ago

leeoniya 11y ago

not to mention how much it costs to support an enormous prison population (largest in the world?) and the permanent toll it has on those with criminal records for drug offenses. do privatized for-profit prisons have a gov't lobby to help fill their cells to max capacity?

dangerlibrary 11y ago
Yep. Probably more than one, but a quick google search yielded: http://apcto.org/ http://apcto.org/
niccaluim 11y ago
largest in the world? Largest by total number by a huge margin (2.2 million, with the next largest being China with 1.7 million), but we've fallen to the #2 spot when measured per capita. Newly #1 there is Seychelles with about 700 prisoners out of a population of 90,000. Source: http://www.prisonstudies.org/highest-to-lowest/prison_population_rate?field_region_taxonomy_tid=All http://www.prisonstudies.org/highest-to-lowest/prison_popula...

abecedarius 11y ago

They're getting $2 billion/year now, according to Wikipedia. I wonder if your $50.6B is not inflation-adjusted; it struck me as surprisingly 'low'.

adventured 11y ago
It's likely not low. The FBI's budget is $8 billion, and the DEA is a small fraction the size of the FBI. I'm rather amazed at the reach of the DEA's activities off of that small of a budget however.

citizensixteen 11y ago

Law enforcement took more stuff from people than burglars did last year. Quote "Here's an interesting factoid about contemporary policing: In 2014, for the first time ever, law enforcement officers took more property from American citizens than burglars did. Martin Armstrong pointed this out at his blog, Armstrong Economics, last week. Officers can take cash and property from people without convicting or even charging them with a crime — yes, really! — through the highly controversial practice known as civil asset forfeiture. Last year, according to the Institute for Justice, the Treasury and Justice departments deposited more than $5 billion into their respective asset forfeiture funds. That same year, the FBI reports that burglary losses topped out at $3.5 billion." https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/11/23/cops-took-more-stuff-from-people-than-burglars-did-last-year/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/11/23/cops-...