Monday, October 29, 2007

Next up: Corrections budget

This budget is going UP 6.4% to just over $2 billion. About a $125 million increase. The two biggest items are $28 million for additional beds and $85 million to give all those hard working civil servants a raise in pay.

Let's not talk about how much could be saved by privatizing some of these services...

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh Please Jack, lets not talk about privatization of the prison system. We all know the corrections dept is laden with top heavy officials, and inept supervision, as well as lazy people, BUT, as a retired corrections officer for many years, I can tell you, Privitization does not work. It is expensive both to operate, oversee, and in legal costs, that the taxpayers are ultimately responsible for,,,,the so called "punk" prison that was private is a prime example...what a grossly missapropriated program that was. As well as being not well trained, they were low paid and poor benefits, that gives rise to corruption and employee set ups.
Michigan Corrections officers are the highest trained and accepted standards in the US today.
Yes it has problems, but lets deal with the sentencing guidelines, and those people who have been locked up over 25 years with exemplary records, who went in as kids, and are now mature much older people.....and could save countless taxpayer dollars if they were screened and sent home while they still have family support system.
Do not let privatization infiltrate our already overburdened corrections dept.
Lets make those in charge, and those working there responsible for thier actions.....The free ride is over...
The people wanted all these restraints and sentences,,,now it is time to pay up, or change how it operates, overhaul it, don't scrap it..

Anonymous said...

Jack:
I have heard that Corrections budgets (the one I heard cited CA) are set (or perhaps informed) by examining the results of the State Standard, federally mandated 4th grade reading test. This makes intuitive sense. If it is as true as it may seem, doesn't a clear proposal quickly gel in the mind of the reader? We attack (in order to improve) the reading problem BEFORE 4th grade. We imporve reading, getting better, happier citizens who do less crime and require less time. Every prison year NOT used saves >$90,000 ($100,000/year to house an inmate - $5,000+ to teach an elementary school child) even AFTER we've doubled the per pupil expenditure in order to fund the extra effort. Or am I way off the mark?