The War on Drugs is a Wealth Transfer Program

The War on Drugs is a Wealth Transfer Program

Take just the last 20 years, and let’s assume we did not pursue the failed War on Drugs, but simply copied European models and decriminalized drugs?

Where would we be today?

Estimates vary between $15 and $100B per year in total local, state and Federal spending on the War on drugs. Let’s take the middle estimates of $50B, we would have an extra $1 Trillion - or enough, to fund NASA ($17B per year) and send 3 million kids to college on a free ride public universities.

So why do we spend $50B a year on the failed War on Drugs if we could have instead paid for every kid’s college and eliminated the student loan drag on our economy as well as given all of NASA a free ride?

Because Aerospace Engineers and High School Students are cheap assholes and not willing to match the lobbying dollars of the gun manufacturers, private prison corporations, police unions, prison worker unions, border patrol suppliers and staff, and so on.

The War on Drugs is a Wealth Transfer program, designed expressly to load the middle and working class with now a $1 Trillions of debt and to the private corporations and bloated payrolls of law enforcement agencies.

We already lead the world in number of prisoners in gross numbers and per capita. We also lead the world in innovative business models on privatization of prisons and probation including novel forms of debtors prison.

What is the largest market in the world? The US federal tax revenues system - it hauls in about $3 Trillion a year from the payroll, income, corporate and excise tax systems. For just $3B total lobbying spending you can control those flows of money.

For every $1 spent on lobbying you can direct $1000 of tax revenues to your chosen industry.

So wake up High Schoolers and Wanna be Trekkers! Start buying lobbyists!

This isn’t a Democracy you know!

Originally posted on Facebook on February 08, 2014.