Happy Pills

[realpolitic]

Originally posted by lord of the mark



in fact i beleive it also follows that the value of mental health care will equal or exceed the after tax cost to employers to provide it - though i cant do the proof off the top of my head.

Here's a partial answer: There are over 2 million people incrcerated in the US plus 4 million on probation parole etc. It costs roughly $60,000/person/year. If 10% of them we helped, it would save:

$ 60,000 /year
* 200,000
_________
$ 12,000,000,000


There is one way of getting the funding: Write George Bush and tell him with the money we save, we could buy a couple of Stealth fighters.

[Solly]

Yeah, let's re-distribute happiness!

[Provost Harrison]

But surely Stew it is a boon for productivity? You're the economist after all

[Solly]

It's certainly the case with artistic people that medicating a mental disease of theirs reduces their productivity.