A new report on one of this newsletter’s favorite topics – the massive costs of the state prisons system – is floating through the halls of the state capitol. The report offers three tips for Michigan citizens concerned about how the state spends tax dollars.
1. PRISON PAY IS UP WHILE THE ECONOMY IS DOWN: What the prison system deems as “economics” have grown at a 3 percent pace in the past decade, despite the deep state recession and constant state budget trouble. Economics include “bargained salary and wage increases, actuarial increases to insurance and retirement costs, inflationary adjustments for prisoner food, fuel, and utilities, workers compensation, and rent and building occupancy increases.” Total tab for “economics” since 2003 is $518 million.
2. STATE HAS MADE BIG STRIDES TO REDUCE PRIONER POPULATION: The report also outlines how the Department of Corrections has reduced the prison population by 6,000 inmates in the past three years, thereby saving many millions off dollars per year. The reduction is apparently occurring without a corresponding increase in crime out in society – the annual number of felony court dispositions in Michigan has been declining for the past two years. Corrections officials attribute these positive trends to the state’s beefed up prisoner re-entry initiative to help parolees re-adjust to society upon their release from prison.
3. MORE CAN BE DONE: Bills currently under review in the Michigan Senate could reduce prison populations further and save tens of millions more per year. The bills would:
To offer support for these and other efforts to reduce the overall slice of the state budget pie going to prisons, contact the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Judiciary and Corrections.
8 Comments
These proposals make sense to control costs of corrections, without being “soft on crime”. We also need to look further at the levels of wages and benefits of prison workers and privatizing support services to minimize costs.
We could reduce the prison population by changes in the sentencing guidelines; if nonviolent first offenders were given a fine with close supervision this would reduce our prison costs and the fine would pay for the supervision.
Truth in sentencing is another bumper sticker policy that doesn’t make sense. When a prisoner has been “good”, why not reward him with a reduced sentence. Then, let’s spend money monitoring and helping him return to society, rather than paying guards to keep him in prison, so he can learn how to be a better criminal.
#2 and #3 sound good. #1 does not.
But, it all starts at the top.
I know granholm has been donating a percentage of her salary back to the state for years.
However, we cannot have state elected officials, including congress and their staff suckling off the taxpayer teet when the economy has tanked and we face high unemployment and higher yet Under employment and continued job and industry losses statewide.
I think all of our State politicians from top to bottom and their staff members should have their salaries cut by the rate of current state unemployment.
Then i think they need to pay average deductibles and limit their benefits to the average corporation provided policies in the state.
They should NOT be getting better benefits than the average private company can provide in the state. Why? because then these yahoos, that most state citizens dont like or approve of, Dont feel our pain, and are there for the money and benefits not the NOble purpose of serving our citizens and state with Good sound Progressive policy that Fixes problems.
And if you’re part of the republican platform, then you’re platform is the Complete and Total Destruction and disassembly of our state and federal government and its services and purpose, with the exception of the job you want, and its high pay and benefits, then give yourself a raise, after you lower the tax rate for the richest people on earth.
So the answer to that issue is to get rid of the Comfort that is provided to elected officials and their staff. Then the only people who’ll want to be there are those who want to help our state and its people.
Theres plenty of better qualified Michigan people who dont owe favors, who’d do those jobs for half the pay.
If you listen to many of these elected persons, you’ll notice that virtually none of their supposed past qualifications seem to ever come into play except to manipulate the system to their benefit.
A thought regarding prisoners… I think they need to look at limited scope work programs run by the state to have these guys cleaning up cities, roads, parks, and doing minor repair and construction work on various smaller problem areas in localities that cant fund misc improvements or repairs.
It would teach the lesser offenders some responsibility, some confidence, some accomplishment, some work skill and do some serving the community for their offenses.
its entirely possible that it may even help provide plus to the cost recovery for their incarcerations. Either way, it would help communities across michigan improve for low labor costs when there is just no room in the budget to accomplish those things.
On a side note:
It would also be nice to require persons who are on Unemployment and DHS assistance to volunteer at a shelter or charity for 2 hours in one day once a week until employed again.
It would also be nice to require anyone making over 100k per year, to spend 6 hours per month volunteering at a Mission/Shelter/Food distribution/or Medical charity location in the state and help and speak with the patrons. Then submit a letter to the editor of the local news agency on “What I learned this month from ordinary people who are struggling and how I can help.”
How about “take a prisoner home” day? Each of our elected officials could participate by personally providing the housing/feeding/healthcare to one (or more) prisoner. The only way out of it was to help the prisoner find a job and housing. Staying with an elected official would also prompt the prisoner to get out. Just thinking “outside of the box” or cell (in this case).
MY FIX FOR PRISONS
BREIFLY…2 PRISONS
PRISON 1 – TOTAL LOCKDOWN, NO BENIFITS, BASIC FOOD
PRISON 2- PRISONERS WORK, GROW FOOD, MAKE PRODUCTS, EARN THEIR KEEP.. IN EXCHANGE FOR GAME TABLES, FOOD REWARDS, INCENTIVES
WHY??? PRISON 2 IS SELF-SUSTAINING, PRISONERS ARE MOTIVATED TO STAY IN-LINE, OR SENT TO PRISON 1. A PRODUCTIVE PRISONER HAS SENSE OF SELF WORTH. PROFITS FROM THEIR PRODUCTS GO TO COST OF INCARCERATION/VICTIMS FUNDS.
ARGUEMENT THEY TAKE AWAY JOBS… BALONEY, THOSE JOBS WENT TO MEXICO/CHINA… LETS STEAL THEM BACK
AT THE VERY LEAST, PRISONERS SHOULD PEDAL BICYCLES TO POWER OUR HOMES
How about this …… everyone who has a great idea on how to improve a prison go work in one or be an inmate for awhile. You have no idea how impractical your ideas are. Gardening sounds wonderful! Now how do you get a guy with a gang mentality, drug addiction and a shank to weed the lettuce? Or keep him from stabbing the guy who is bent over to pull a weed? Do you even know that the best jobs (kitchen work) are controlled by the gangs. If a white guy gets assigned to the kitchen he gets his azz beat or gets set up so the position is opened back up to another black gang member. You all think it is so simple. Lock’em up and throw away the key or give’em a shovel and make them work. And how many shanks to you think an inmate could make from a bicycle? Get real!