3 ms·
> The kinds of theft happening in LA on a regular basis are essentially unheard of in places like Japan, Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong or Taiwan. Any such occurre
by mschuster91 3y ago
> The kinds of theft happening in LA on a regular basis are essentially unheard of in places like Japan, Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong or Taiwan. Any such occurrence would be shocking news and police would be all over it.
That's more likely because these places (as does Europe, by the way - we also don't have people burglarizing trains!) have robust social security networks for their population. The homeless get at least basic assistance, the mentally ill get taken care of.
The US does neither. People who have fallen through the cracks simply don't get any help at all (except from some charities), and mentally ill people don't get any care.
- AlchemistCamp 3y agoNot true! With the exception of Japan, every one of the places I listed spends less on social security and welfare in general as percentage of GDP than the US does. In most cases, dramatically less.
- bugglebeetle 3y agoSpending != to benefits actually received. LA, for example, spends billions on affordable housing schemes that are little more than fronts for lining the pockets of the allies of local politicians. Vienna, by contrast, spends far less and has a massive, well-maintained social housing scheme, in which something like a third of the population lives.
- mschuster91 3y ago> Vienna, by contrast, spends far less and has a massive, well-maintained social housing scheme, in which something like a third of the population lives. And on top of that, it creates a very effective price cap on rents in the non-social housing sector, because people could just go and live into marginally lower-quality housing instead.
- AlchemistCamp 3y agoYou're not wrong about the inefficiency of LA (or really California) welfare spending. IMO, too little of the budget is on payroll. It's largely outsourced to non-profits with poor outcomes.