> The root of the cause is they aren't redistributing the wealth well. They should offer the poor, an affordable medical care, a shelter, and just simply hand t

> The root of the cause is they aren't redistributing the wealth well. They should offer the poor, an affordable medical care, a shelter, and just simply hand them the money. Except you have to get them to care about more than getting high, first. The one man in the article who lost his family started with an addiction to pain killers and progressed downward to heroin and homelessness. His problem wasn't a lack of the material, it was a lack of meaning. "Handing them the money" reinforces meaninglessness. It won't work. Throughout history there have been poor people who were virtuous. I grew up poor, and poverty didn't make us turn to stealing. Yes, we actually had too little food. My mother often went hungry as she made sure her children were fed. There are millions of the poor all over the world, and only a few of them are criminals. Most are good people. The only possible conclusion to draw from this fact is that crime is not caused by poverty, otherwise all or most of the world's poor would be criminals. It turns out that handing out needles just makes it easier to do hard drugs. Turning a blind eye to crime leads to more crime, it normalizes it. Getting these people medical care would be a beginning. Ask them to meet some standards. Food if you avoid drugs. Shelter if you help care for it, and avoid drugs. A clean place to bathe and groom yourself, if you help clean it. A shot at getting a job by keeping yourself clean in several senses. Setting the conditions begins providing meaning. Helping others and caring for one's surroundings provides meaning and dignity. That, more than anything, is the strong foundation from which to attack addiction.