I was very touched watching this just now on CNN.
Florida police officer makes a difference in kids' lives
++++++++++++
This is the solution!
Recruit cops (and others) that are suited (background checks to keep the predators out).
Train them and Pay them to make extra money. There is no more important job than providing positive role models and mentoring our at risk youth.
Instead of lowering standards for them, raise them up to the standards we want for all Americans to meet!
If we spent just $10,000 on each at risk kid in a program like this (starting at a very young age) we could touch 1 million lives in a profound way with just $10 billion.
$50 billion would touch 5 million lives......ALL OF THEM!
That's less than half the money sent to Ukraine.
That's 10% of the money going to crony capitalism and counter productive energy policies with the fake climate crisis/inflation reduction act.
We can solve this problem but our politicians and leaders are too self absorbed in enriching themselves and their agenda to keep power.
Here's the best thing about that $50 billion.
We would get it back X 10 because it would be an investment in our youth.
Saving money by reducing the massive cost of crime. The cost of housing criminals in prison. Massively increasing the productivity of our least productive people.
National Institute of Justice
Victim Costs and Consequences:
A New Look
https://www.ojp.gov/pdffiles/victcost.pdf
These tangible losses do not account for the
full impact of crime on victims, however, because they ig-
nore pain, suffering, and lost quality of life. Including pain,
suffering, and the reduced quality of life increases the cost
of crime to victims to an estimated $450 billion annually.
Violent crime (including drunk driving and arson) accounts
for $426 billion of this total, property crime $24 billion.
These estimates exclude several crimes that were not in-
cluded in this study but that also have large impacts, nota-
bly many forms of white collar crime (including personal
fraud) and drug crimes.
Below are some yardsticks that put the costs into context.
n Violent crime causes 3 percent of U.S. medical spending
and 14 percent of injury-related medical spending.
n Violent crime results in wage losses equivalent to 1
percent of American earnings.
n Violent crime is a significant factor in mental health care
usage. As much as 10 to 20 percent of mental health care
expenditures in the United States may be attributable to
crime, primarily for victims treated as a result of their vic-
timization. About half of these expenditures are for child
abuse victims who are receiving treatment for abuse experi-
enced years earlier. These estimates do not include any
treatment for perpetrators of violence.
n Personal crime reduces the average American’s quality of
life by 1.8 percent. Violence alone causes a 1.7 percent
loss. These estimates are conservative. They include only
costs to victimized households, ignoring the broader
impact of crime-induced fear on our society
+++++++++++++++++++
The key is to not just GIVE money away to poor families in need/welfare like we do now. Make it mandatory that poor children at risk participate to get a penny.
Have the program available for others not on government assistance. It can be done thru the schools. Ideally with 1 parent but don't require the parent to participate or you may lose the kid. A rigorous program designed to have life changing impacts which breaks the vicious cycle their family may be caught in.
Make parenting classes mandatory in high school. Being a parent is the most important job anybody will ever have.