Michigan one of four that spends more on prisons than universities

Michigan Fallacy: "Prison Jobs = Good Economy" (4.00 / 2)

I'm not being facetious. Remember when the Jackson prison was being shut down and Jackson was trying to save it because of jobs?

Here is how the State News saw the closing.

Any way you look at Granholm's proposal, it's irresponsible. While the budget would no doubt benefit from an additional $92 million, the proposal doesn't take into consideration the jobs lost in Jackson once the prison closes. Any short-term benefit gained from closing the facility would immediately be counteracted by the fact that a massive source of jobs in the city has just dried up.

Michigan has a fine, long-standing tradition of employers abandoning the state, leaving poverty and strife in their wake - from General Motors Corp. leaving Flint in the '80s, to Electrolux leaving Greenville last year and Comerica Inc. recently announcing its planned move to Texas. If we close the state prison in Jackson, it will mark one of the rare times the state itself has been responsible for slapping jobs out of workers' hands.

Shortly after that article I wrote a similar one is the satire newspaper Spartan Weekly, title "Save Jackson's Crime Based Economy".

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by: Philip.R.Moon @ Thu Feb 28, 2008 at 23:17:13 PM UTC

Add to that cost, (4.00 / 1)

the cost of prisoner re-entry:  assistance with housing, counseling, transportation, employment, etc.  They need to stop this stupid war on drugs and release the people who are in jail on drug convictions.  From what I've read, 20% of the prison population is for that reason.  Imagine the savings. Instead, we will arrest and detroy them so we have someone to rescue and reclaim - what a crock.  

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by: dkmich @ Fri Feb 29, 2008 at 11:19:08 AM UTC

maybe common fiscal sense will trump fear (0.00 / 0)

from the article, it looks like the Governor's plans are not only socially responsible but fiscally practical:

Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm has said Michigan's prison population could be pared down by bringing sentencing guidelines in line with other states, paroling inmates convicted of nonviolent offenses, releasing sick prisoners and making other changes.

maybe finally Common Sense will trump FEAR

Sen. Alan Cropsey, R-DeWitt, who is participating in the talks, said the real question should be whether people are safe in Michigan -- a core government function -- not if more money should be spent on prisons than other things. The Corrections Department must find ways to stop released inmates from victimizing people and returning to prison, he said.

This diary is adds interesting dimensions to the article in today's coffee talk about U of M's report on spending and their endowment.  

What would Eleanor Roosevelt do?

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by: janeenr @ Fri Feb 29, 2008 at 15:29:30 PM UTC

Wasting Money and Lives in Prison (4.00 / 1)

About half of the criminals in Michigan's prisons are non-violent. Prison isn't always the solution for them. There is a lot of technology out there these days. Let them work, wear an electronic tether and pay for their visit to the Probation or Parole officer.The other dynamic rarely mentioned is that when we incarcerate these non-violent offenders many of their families go on welfare or at least Food Stamps, thus adding to tax payor burden.

The other dynmaic going on is the "lock 'em up and throw away the key" mentality. Some of the drug pushing and assaults are done by 17 and 18 year olds . Some of them are locked up for 20 years because they got drunk, stole a car, got in a fight, and got busted with dope in their pocket all in one night when they were 17 or 18. Can we use judges for what they were supposed to do and get rid of these mandatory sentences? Can we stop locking kids up for eternity? A smart judge could read that scenario I just mentioned, take the offenders age into account, and come up with a more just sentence than a string of mandatory sentences that could literally put the kid in prison for the twenty years I used as an example.

Another example of what is going on. A prisoner could live in a dorm like setting where he/she needs to ask for permission to go to the bathroom after 11P.M. but not before. The prisoner goes to sleep early in the evening ,wakes up and doesn't know what time it is, and goes to the bathroom without asking. A staff member sees him and writes a report on him for a violation. The prisoner may spend another year in prison because this is considered a major prison infraction and he get could get denied his parole. He then costs we tax payers another year in prison because no common sense is used in the whole scenario.

We really need to look at the whole system from top to bottom.Michigan and the U.S.A. is wasting a lot of taxpayers money and destroying many lives with pettiness, hate, and unreasoned fear.

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by: Jim Ramelis @ Sat Mar 01, 2008 at 01:32:19 AM UTC