Walk through the downtown in any major city, and you’ll come across untreated, lice-infected, seriously mentally ill people camped out on the sidewalk screaming at voices only they can hear. These are not individuals experiencing low-grade anxiety or suboptimal “wellness” — these are people with acute conditions that can lead to dangerous behavior. The mental health industry tells us that the only solution is more money. But the federal government already spends $150 billion on the mentally ill, with states kicking in billions more.
The problem is not how much we spend, it’s that we spend it in all the wrong places. Mental health spending moved from psychiatric hospitals, which by definition served the most seriously mentally ill, to community-based programs that largely shun those who are so seriously ill they would otherwise need hospitalization. Instead, they focus on improving “mental wellness” in all others.
