“I am increasingly of the opinion that the central problem is that the American people do not care what works. They care which “solutions” feel morally sound when summed up in a dozen words or less. And they hate the idea that someone, somewhere might get some benefit they do not deserve.
“They do not care that sex education and free distribution of prophylactics dramatically decrease teen pregnancy and STDs. They care whether some shiftless kids might get laid and their money might have helped. They don’t care if food stamps have a remarkable multiplier effect and are effective not just as public assistance, but as economic stimulus. They care whether or not someone, somewhere might be getting free money they don’t deserve and then spending it on things they find frivolous. And they certainly don’t care whether there are penal system models that could reduce recidivism at a lower cost to tax payers. They care whether whether the less than human prisoners in our system might be enjoying some benefit somehow that “rewards” them for their crime.
“I don’t even know how you argue with this view of the world with logic and facts, because people don’t give a shit.”