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Fascinating. I hate marketers.

http://www.pragmatic-research.com/about-pragmatic-research-inc/about-pri.html

@NaR

On, right wing relativism. Nice catch!

@TLR

A waterboarding booth at the fair? Gad! I could see all kinds of chicken hawks lining up to demonstrate how tough they really are. What a visual!

@Mona

I was working that beat in the 70s. The 60s initiative for a least restrictive setting turned out to be one of those nice federal initiatives that carried lots of clout and darned little funding (sort of like IDEA/NCLB in the schools). The catcher's mitts for folks released to those least restrictive settings (the community mental health centers and halfway houses) took a direct hit under Reagan.

Is half right, but she doesn't give Reagan, and Jarvis-Gann, the credit for getting the ball rolling. As California goes, so goes the nation:

Electronic Journal of Sociology (1998)

ISSN: 1198 3655

Ronald Reagan and the Commitment of the Mentally Ill:

Capital, Interest Groups, and the Eclipse of Social Policy

Alexandar R Thomas

Department of Sociology and Anthropology

Northeastern University

alex@telenet.net

Abstract

Conventional wisdom suggests that the reduction of funding for social welfare policies during the 1980s is the result of a conservative backlash against the welfare state. With such a backlash, it should be expected that changes in the policies toward involuntary commitment of the mentally ill reflect a generally conservative approach to social policy more generally. In this case, however, the complex of social forces that lead to less restrictive guidelines for involuntary commitment are not the result of conservative politics per se, but rather a coalition of fiscal conservatives, law and order Republicans, relatives of mentally ill patients, and the practitioners working with those patients. Combined with a sharp rise in homelessness during the 1980s, Ronald Reagan pursued a policy toward the treatment of mental illness that satisfied special interest groups and the demands of the business community, but failed to address the issue: the treatment of mental illness

Introduction

Almost ten years after Ronald Reagan left office as president, the legacy of his administration continues to be studied. What is almost indisputable is that the changes in public policy that were implemented during the 1980s were sweeping and marked a turning point in American domestic policy. Faced with increasing competition from overseas, American business found it necessary to alter the social contract. This would require a realignment of the political economy so as to weaken labor unions and the social safety net. In Reagan, the Right found a spokesman capable of aligning conservatives, centrists, and working class whites. With this coalition, Reagan was able to bring about a number of reactionary changes in public policy (Alford, 1988)...

http://www.sociology.org/content/vol003.004/thomas.html

I hate to keep harping on this but it is necessary. On domestic and economic policy, all the right has is propaganda and kooky voo-doo, and a record of failure 40 years long.

. The 60s initiative for a least restrictive setting turned out to be one of those nice federal initiatives that carried lots of clout and darned little funding (sort of like IDEA/NCLB in the schools). The catcher's mitts for folks released to those least restrictive settings (the community mental health centers and halfway houses) took a direct hit under Reagan.

That may be true, but it really also was BEFORE Reagan. The funding for the community-based programs has never been what the progressive advocates of deinstitutionalization envisioned it to be.

In any event, and contrary to some comments here, letting the mentally ill out of hospitals was not a right-wing mvmt motivated by a desire to save money. It was seen as an enlightened approach to allowing the mentally ill to live in their communities.

Point Reyes Light - August 12, 1999

Mentally ill struggle in rich Marin County

By Gregory Foley

Last in a series

When former Governor Ronald Reagan moved to de-institutionalize the treatment of mental illness in the early 1970's, counties like Marin were relieved of forking out millions of dollars to support state-run facilities like the Napa State Hospital.

The idea was to leave patients closer to home, near to county and community health services. The majority of the mentally ill would no longer be treated through bureaucratic systems designed in Sacramento, but would instead be cared for and socialized by the county in which they lived.

For Marin, the policy meant that tax dollars would support Community Mental Health and a long list of satellite providers, both private and public, rather than costly out-of-county institutions.

How it fell apart

Three decades later, the vision of the Reagan administration has far from lived up to its promise, and a wealthy county like Marin has failed to support mental health services for those who need it most - the poor and the uninsured.

Ed Walker, Mental Health Director at county Health and Human Services, said the Reagan plan ran head-first into funding difficulties after 1978's Proposition 13, which limited the state's ability to tax property.

"We saw a great reduction of funds in the 80's," Walker told The Light. "Some federal funds were phased out at the same time as Proposition 13. Local and state funding dried up, there were program cut-backs, and then you throw in a recession and you can imagine what happened."

As The Light reported two weeks ago, many of Marin's mentally ill end up classified as 5150, a designation which defines an individual as "gravely disabled" and a danger to themselves or others. 5150's are taken by law enforcement to the Crisis Unit at Marin General and detained for 72 hours for evaluation and treatment.

Fewer options

While the most severe or "acute" cases of mental illness are often managed and provided with full-time care, the majority of cases, until they sporadically meet the "emergency" criteria of a 5150, are left with ever-decreasing options for treatment.

Ann Pring, an Inverness resident and head of Psychiatric Services at St. Mary's Hospital in San Francisco, told The Light that friends or family members usually have to see the mentally ill "bottom out" before they get proper care. "There are not a lot of avenues [for treatment]. A person may be having a difficult time, or not taking their meds, but until it's a 5150, they can't do anything," Pring said. "The county is doing the best they can, but the funds are limited."

Bolinas Fire Chief Kevin Hicks told The Light he sees that the poor and homeless are often the ones that suffer, as they lack the money for proper treatment and a place to go in times of crisis...

http://www.ptreyeslight.com/stories/aug12_99/mental.html

I want to thank the all Pauliacs for dropping by and vividly demonstrating for us the error of Ronnie's policies.

:-)

If you think you are helping your cult leader, you muust be______.

(It's a psych test. Fill in that blank)