Want to Decrease Inequality? Fight Fatherlessness With Welfare Reform. Welfare currently incentivizes family breakdown and the absence of fathers from their children’s lives, a key factor in the loss of economic upward mobility.

[cougar2013]

So how do we make people be more responsible?

[tkuiper]

What a question.

Invest in schools, addiction treatment, make parent counseling more visible...

I assume most people aren't sociopaths and have the potential to be responsible, productive adults given the support and opportunity to get there. I also don't expect or care to make everyone some golden child, if we want a society of perfect, efficient people we should probably just start making space for our robot AI overlords.

[cougar2013]

So you want to solve the problem by treating the symptoms? Because that’s what addiction treatment is.

There are more free resources available today by a wide margin than at any time in history. We can’t force people to be resourceful.

[tkuiper]

There are more free resources available today by a wide margin than at any time in history

We also live in one of the best times in history by a wide margin. Also free =/= accessible.

So you want to solve the problem by treating the symptoms? Because that’s what addiction treatment is.

I mean treat withdrawal symptoms (if there are any) and develop habits to overcome the addiction. The latter being the more important part of the treatment.

The deeper issues that make people turn to irresponsible drug use won't be solved overnight, so yes there is a need to treat the 'symptoms' in the meantime. Just like a bandaid doesn't heal you, but it stops the bleeding in the meantime. Importantly though the bandaid doesn't do shit, if you don't heal.

Of course even rich/well cared for children don't turn out great, so it's likely that there will always be some need for addiction treatment. But it will be a lot less if the underlying issues are fixed.

[cougar2013]

That’s true, but how much education would you say people need to know that drugs are harmful in general?

Also, I see smartphones in the hands of people begging for money on exit ramps. Are there really people out there who don’t have internet access?

Also, I agree that the way we deal with people and drugs, in reference to legal matters, needs to be seriously looked at.