I mean this on a crime prevention aspect, simply put the cost of the prevention verses the cost of cure. and that is assuming that the prevention actually avoids the problem and not just hide the symptoms.
207227
yes.\nPreventing crime avoids multiple kinds of cost:\n* cost for the damage the crime did\n* cost for the prosecution\n* cost for the penal system\n\nAdd these together and you will see that these costs are in most cases higher than the cost for social programs that help avoid crime.\n\nThe only little issue with prevention is:\nThe cost of prevention is one large chunk out of the public coffers. The cost of crime is payed by public (prosecution and penal system) and private money (damage).\nSince the cost of damage is normally covered by the victim or the victim's insurance people don't see this part of the cost of crime clearly. So they tend to disregard it.
359487
For some its risky because it can cause mental health problems for others it can help with illness .Its a tricky one because you will always get people who take it too much .In moderation I think its OK but like anything else you have to get the balance right.Maybe it should be on prescription for people who use to ease symptoms of illness and for those who use it recreationally have legal venues where use is moderated/sensibly controlled,without criminalisation.That would get rid of some of the dodgy element.But I believe the drug laws need a complete overhaul anyway and sooner rather than later.
596251
I'm not going to accuse you of ignorance or call you insensitive- I understand you are merely thinking, and have asked for thoughts.\n\nThere are several problems with this proposal- \n\nFirst, how would we identify every person on this planet who has AIDS?  Not everyone with the disease has a medical record- children in Africa, for example, may not even be aware that they're afflicted.  \n\nThis does not speak toward those who carry HIV or AIDS but do not yet show symptoms- so again, HOW can we determine who has the disease?\n\nSecond, where do you propose we place all these people?  They will not speak the same language, they will not come from the same culture- AIDS is not a disease which afflicts only one population- it's global.  \n\nCan you imagine the cost to place millions of people who don't speak the same language in a "colony"?  \n\nThird, what to do with them once they are in "the colony"?  Let them fend for themselves?  Again, the cost to provide adequate housing and resources (education, food, entertainment) would be astronomical.\n\nThis idea simply wouldn't work, and it's cruel and inhumane.  Let us not forget that persons with AIDS aren't mindless zombies, they are people, and they most certainly wouldn't allow themselves to be shipped off somewhere.  Imagine the fighting this would cause!\n\nThe best way to get rid of AIDS (barring a vaccine and cure) is NOT to contract it- to prevent new cases from occurring.  This is accomplished through education and common sense.  \n\nThe money it would take for your proposed colony would be much better spent researching a cure, educating those who don't have access to education, and helping those with the disease live more comfortable lives.
537890
Think about it: healthcare costs, an monitored alarm system for your home, registering your car, having telephone service, cable TV, gym membership -- all of these things are really optional.  But if you get sick then it is nice to be enrolled in a health plan, if your house gets ripped off then you wish you had had an alarm system, you don't register your car and the cop gives you a ticket, you need to make a 911 call and you don;t have a phone -- the cable TV and gym membership are luxury items -- but all of these contribute to a drain on your presonal budegt.
120721
In my own experience, its really best that you consult specialist for it. Trying out random remedy is risky.
659173
I think that's a great idea.  Sure, it'd mean a bit more in taxes, but First Aid and CPR are worth the money, and basic living skills may even save money in the long run by helping out people who aren't well-off stay off welfare and medicaid.
439633
Yes save the tax payers money and the overloaded jails if your saying a man who rapes children pedifilers etc.,. yes putting htem in jail doesn't correct the problem we see them get out on the streets and go back to what they were doing so yes cut it off and problem solved. and we save our children and the tax payers and the over crowded jails for other crimes
600018
Education, as you envision it, is very difficult to implement.  And it certainly won't fix all the health problems.\n\nThere are millions of dollars spent telling people not to smoke.  Every package of cigarettes has some warning telling the smoker that smoking is not good for them.  Yet milions of people smoke.\n\nI don't know if your idea would extend to 'when those smokers get emphysema or lung cancer, let 'em die, since they should have known better....we need to spend more on education', but this is not a very humanitarian health care system.\n\nFurthermore, while the average human life span in the developed world has substantially increased due to technology, as people live longer, there are more things that happen to them.  You can't simply expect to 'educate' away disease.  That just won't work.
334971
They aren't slacking. It's that curing cancer is tough and very very difficult. Do you think that they'd do a better job at creating cures if they didn't have any money at all?
85145
I'll say it seems like a good idea, but one just need look at countries where this is done to see the draw backs.  Some countries have waiting lists to perform heart surgeries, muchless elective surgeries.  Next look at how most these countries can't provide enough doctors, muchless nurses, and the waiting times to get in just for a common cold visit.  I think the government should help out those that can't afford it, but there's no reason the government should pay for everybody.  Heck if the government paid for the poors health cost, health insurance would be more affordable, and those without it might be able to pay the bill.  Unpaid health costs from the poor/uninsured are the reason hospitals have to charge $5 for a tylenol to those that can pay. (If you have insurance this doesn't mean they pay that, most have a set amount per day regardless of what is charged)
228158
I think a lot of money goes into AIDS research, and although there is obviously no cure yet, there are drugs that greatly prolong life.  Treatment and drug distribution should be a major concern, however.  The AIDS epidemic in Africa is devastating, and it is genuinely horrifying to realize that I live in a country (U.S.) that would rather funnel my tax money into a phony war that I don't support than use it to help masses of people who suffer indescribable conditions every day of their lives.  First world powers, capable of stepping in, are just leaving the African continent to rot.  The vast majority of AIDS sufferers in Africa don't have access to the medication that could improve their health and prolong their lives, and government leaders constantly avoid discussing this issue.  Even in my own country, where we do not have socialized medicine, there are people living with this disease who have no means of paying for treatment.  Health care costs are exorbitant, and fewer and fewer companies are willing to provide workers with these benefits.  I constantly hear people referring to the U.S. as one of the richest nations in the world.  Well, that may be, but I'm not in the least bit impressed with the way in which our government allocates resources.  Obviously tax cuts for the richest 1 percent of our population are more important than providing decent health care to the middle and lower classes.  It's disgusting, and things have to change.  Greed is running rampant and we are squandering one of the world's most precious resources, human life.
609592
I WOULD CURE A DISEASE BECAUSE THERE ARE SO MANY PEOPLE IN THE WORLD THAT IS SICK AND DYING OF INCURABLE DISEASES. THERE WILL NEVER BE PEACE ON EARTH ACCORDING TO THE  WORD OF GOD. THERE HAS AND ALWAYS WILL BE POVERTY  IN THE WORLD IN ONE PLACE OR ANOTHER.
449524
all the time\n\nalthough it's more likely that a preventative vaccine will be found first\n\nI do believe with all my heart that a cure will be found one day\n\nthe trouble is, that the strain of HIV mutates all of the time, kind of like the common cold, so it's hard and very expensive to try to pinpoint the cure for each individual\n\nbut I'm ever the optimist\n\nI don't have the virus myself so I have no personal interest in this, other than wanting to eradicate the number of unnecessary deaths each year because poorer countries cannot afford the medications to prolong life
382155
There is a time to save money this is not one of them. If you think the medicine is expensive then maybe you should rethink the cost of procreation.
471390
B, that's it. The idea is to stall for time until a cure is found. \n\nOh, and it can still be transferred. Be careful kids.
326003
Although the other answers sound logical.  I don't believe them.  Because women like Christopher Reeves wife would have had the money to pay for a cure if it existed.  LOTS of celebrities that have money, die...from cancer and I doubt that is because they wanted to.  And if there is no money in the cure, it would seem they did have a cure and werent putting it out and some were being spared.  But why not good solid people that could afford it?  And if it was nature's way of eliminating the weak, then why do we try to stop nature?
30497
The doctor's, pharmacies, and various other organizations make too much money without a cure. Think of all the money they would lose on pills, treatments, ect. if there was a cure. It isn't just AIDS/HIV, it is the same with cancers and other deadly diseases as well.