Let’s focus on supply side

To stop the entry of drugs into our country, elected officials operate an aggressive federal agency — the Drug Enforcement Administration — and also are collaborating with law enforcement agencies around the country. Officials are spending billions of dollars to reduce the supply of drugs by arresting dealers and smugglers and filling up our prisons with minor drug offenders.

It costs more to keep a prisoner than it does to support a student in college. And we have a president who says he wants a multimillion-dollar wall built along the border with Mexico that, in his opinion, will stem the flow of immigrants and drugs.

So the actions our officials are taking would seem to indicate a belief that a decrease in the supply of drugs will decrease the demand for drugs.

On tax reform, our elected officials have determined that we need a large tax reduction for the wealthy and for corporations in this country to give them more money to use to increase the supply of jobs.

In this case, elected officials seem to think that if we build new stores and put more stuff on the shelves, this increase in supply of goods available will result in more jobs. To the contrary, some economists point out that giving more money to potential customers such as middle- and lower-income workers and retirees who will then buy stuff will increase demand for more jobs.

In my opinion, elected officials are taking a wrongheaded position in both cases, but in opposite ways. I think we need to vigorously attack the demand side in each case: Increase the demand for products through tax relief for the middle- and lower-income earners and decrease the demand for drugs through expanded health care for those who are addicted along with a massive education program about the dangers of drug use to keep people from starting to use drugs in the first place.

Doing that would save millions of dollars, and the supply problem would take care of itself. No demand, no need for supply. Try as they may, elected officials can’t have it both ways.

Charles Parrish, Las Vegas