Post-Gazette Editorial – 1/30/07

This page was last updated on January 30, 2007.

Coming up short: Mentally disabled pay a price for society’s failure; Editorial; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; January 30, 2007.

Rather do a full piece-by-piece critique, I’ll address only one point.

Read closely, and you find the editorial appears to consider “society” and “government” as synonyms. They are not.

Here’s the clearest example. “Allegheny County spends almost $200 million a year on services for mentally retarded adults (the budget for Pennsylvania is $1.5 billion). That funding admits a societal responsibility …”

Government is a tool of society. There are some societal responsibilities best carried out by government. Civil and criminal legal systems are two examples.

I don’t believe care for the mentally or otherwise disabled is one of those responsibilities. Don’t get me wrong. I believe taking care of those who cannot – as opposed to will not – take care of themselves is a responsibility of society, but I also believe it’s a responsibility best handled by private sector organizations.