JFK signed the bill in 1963, to empty the state mental hospitals, it took a while to work it’s way through the system, but we got there, now they live like neglected animals on the streets.
California liberals still blame Reagan for closing the Mental Hospitals during his his Governorship, but it was actually the ACLU that sued on behalf of the mentally ill being held against their will and those that had been committed by relatives.
When you point this fact out to libs, their heads explode and they go into full denial mode, even when you email them factual links from non-partisan web sites.
They, of course, responds with links to every lunatic fringe website on the internet.
When you ask them to source a non-agenda driven web site, they claim that Media Matters and others are honest and balanced.
You can’t have any type of debate with these people.
Banging your head against a brick will is less futile than trying to talk some sense into a hardcore lefty.
Apart from the fact that the main motivation was nothing so grand, but just simply a desire to save money (naturally), the whole theory (like so many liberal ideas) is flawed. It sounds good, and the motivation might be very laudable, but in typical fashion they never think through the consequences of the action. A lot of people who have been released from the mental hospitals are very seriously ill indeed, and they need much more care than the general public is either qualified or logistically able to give. Schizophrenics are particularly vulnerable here, as the condition tends to be episodic and it can be hard to know if someone has naturally healed (as commonly happens) or if they are just going through a long normal period.