The tag line of the article reads "It's a place where the most hopeless of alcoholics can drink away their final days at less risk and cost to the public." That sounds like a place where they are invited to come and commit suicide, albeit slowly. I certainly agree that the alternative of turning them out on the streets is less humane. But what about the alternative of committing them to an institution where they have a chance of being cured of their addiction? What about the alternative of a life where they're sober?
The article implies that all of these men are incorrigible, but many might simply be people with families who don't have the resources to get treatment, or that simply don't care enough to get it. There is a great danger that because it's cheaper, we'll rationalize away the moral argument in much the same way you do, by pretending that there is no alternative but putting them on the street.
The article implies that all of these men are incorrigible, but many might simply be people with families who don't have the resources to get treatment, or that simply don't care enough to get it. There is a great danger that because it's cheaper, we'll rationalize away the moral argument in much the same way you do, by pretending that there is no alternative but putting them on the street.