10.7 Billion for California State Prison System
More money! More money!
[T]he department’s total budget (increased) to more than $10.7 billion. That will make it the fourth highest budget in the state after K-12 education, health and human services and higher education.
California's prison house more than 100,000 people. The population has gotten so large more than 4,000 are housed out of state in Mississippi and Arizona.
Longer sentences and more taxpayer dollars:
But UC Berkeley criminologist Barry Krisberg said the prison population is expected to trickle back up in the future. A state finance report projects that by the year 2020, it will surpass 131,000 inmates.
"The main dynamic pushing the California prison population is not so much the number of people entering prison, it's how long they're staying, said Krisberg.
But UC Berkeley criminologist Barry Krisberg said the prison population is expected to trickle back up in the future. A state finance report projects that by the year 2020, it will surpass 131,000 inmates."The main dynamic pushing the California prison population is not so much the number of people entering prison, it's how long they're staying, said Krisberg.
Reported by Southern California Public Radio: http://www.scpr.org/news/2016/06/16/61733/bump-to-state-prisons-likely-u...
Hat tip to Capitol and Main: http://capitalandmain.com/from-the-web/ca-corrections-dept-get-budget-bump/
Comments
Problem worse in Alabama
I guess that's no surprise. Here's an article from today about our absurd situation.
http://www.alreporter.com/prisons-math-doesnt-added-up/
We spend less on schools than prisons. We get what we pay for ... an under-educated over-incarcerated state. Guess which communities get the least school funding and have the highest incarceration rates. They're same ones that had their Driver license offices removed after voter ID laws passed.
I often wonder if we have made any real progress since the 60's.
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Support the September 9th Prison Strike
Attica, Alabama, Georgia. Fuck Bill and Hillary Clinton. Fuck Jackie Lacey. Fuck Kamala Harris.
Details of Georgia prison strike from the Black Agenda Report: http://blackagendareport.com/content/ga-prisoner-strike-continues-second...
And the Free Alabama Movement:
http://freealabamamovement.com
"They'll say we're disturbing the peace, but there is no peace. What really bothers them is that we are disturbing the war." Howard Zinn
$100k+ per inmate
The economic argument against this practice alone is way too easy to make. There people who are definitely too great a threat to be allowed to walk amongst us. I suspect they are a tiny, tiny portion. The economic, humanitarian, and societal benefits from making lengthy imprisonment a rare thing are obvious. How would such a system work and wrenching the power to imprison from those who profit are the big problems. I fail to believe there are no viable ideas available to make it work.
"Ah, but I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now..."
Foolish Waste of Money
KPFK, the Los Angeles Pacifica station, was "celebrating" yesterday a comment from the 1960's regarding ending poverty in america. The gist of the comment was, "If you want to end poverty, give people money".
Using that comment as a template, I believe that the $107,000 spent each year on each prisoner (using the numbers offered in the post above) would be better spent hiring each of the suitable and non-violent prisoners to behave themselves. They would have to report in every pay period (similar to employed persons) and demonstrate that they have committed no offenses of any kind in order to receive their next support check. I see no reason not to require some kind of public service as a condition of this. Failure to abide by this set of conditions and one is returned to the Big House.
Considering that the recidivism rates are astronomical under the reich-wing scheme of punishment over rehabilitation. something else needs to be tried. I heard an ex-prisoner describe how hard it is to stay out of prison once released. In prison, all of your needs are met by others. When you are released, no one is there to do it for you. Eventually, you slip up and back to the Graybar you go.
Acclimatizing non-violent felons to become self-responsible has to be better than treating all prisoners like caged animals and subjecting them to prison guard gangs for abuse.
Vowing To Oppose Everything Trump Attempts.
Good Idea.
I remember once long ago in a staff meeting I said something critical about a proposal and one of my women peers looked at me and sweetly said, "You're being logical again." We all laughed because we understood how illogical life can be. You are absolutely right: a guaranteed income would remove a lot of the temptation or necessity for crime. But our society is programmed not to give "something for nothing" so we cannot seem to make logical, effective decisions like this. We have never outgrown our childish jealousy of someone who gets something we don't have. The argument over the purpose of incarceration, punishment or rehabilitation, has been going on for decades and seems always to wind up opting for punishment. I suppose we will just have to continue hoping and making those darned logical proposals.
-Greed is not a virtue.
-Socialism: the radical idea of sharing.
-Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.
John F. Kennedy, In a speech at the White House, 1962