Can we finally bring an end to
the madness of incarcerating so many Black men?
The
budget crises faced by states might be the key to breaking our nation’s
abhorrent incarceration rates for Black and Latino men.
We’ve
all heard powerful arguments about the high social cost of keeping men
of color locked up:
- the price paid for raising children
without fathers
- relegating men to low-income jobs because they
have a record or spent their prime working years in prison
- voter
disenfranchisement
- broken families
- broke communities
All of these problems have social costs and real economic
costs.
But somehow, the arguments are always pounded down by
the law-and-order politicians who make specious arguments about public
safety.
(Our “post-racial” society that is still automatically
suspicious of dark-skinned brethren hasn’t been sufficiently outraged
about inequities in the criminal justice system to do much about it
either.)
Well, maybe this time the tune will change. Because
this time it’s about big money. Not just the people’s money, not just
the money lost by low-income communities. But BIG money, as in many
billions of dollars.
State and local governments all across the
country are facing budgetary crises. And they could cut billions out of
their expenditures by reducing incarceration rates.
Governments could make quick use of an extra $16.9 billion a year, the
amount that could be saved by cutting the number of jailed
nonviolent
offenders in half.
The
Center
for Economic and Policy Research released a new report on the
potential savings to state and local governments if they cut the prison
population, with virtually no risk to public safety.
Over the
last 30 years, violent crime and property crime rates have gone down.
Over the same period, incarceration rates have exploded. In other words,
crime is not the reason more people are in jail. It’s a political
choice.
Even for 2009, in the midst of the recession,
FBI statistics
show crime rates falling. They keep going down despite hard economic
times, which we often think will drive people to take desperate
measures.
In 2008, federal, state, and local governments spent
about $75 billion on corrections, according CEPR. Nonviolent offenders
make up about 60 percent of those in jail or prison, so cutting that
group in half could offer substantial savings for strapped states and
localities.
Take a cue from the downward trend in juvenile
incarceration. States have been closing juvie facilities because arrests
are down,
as
the AP reported.
Since it costs about $200,000 a year to
hold a juvenile, there’s a potential for considerable savings. As states
are laying off teachers, benching firefighters, and leaving poor
children without health insurance
it seems like a
good time to reevaluate our priorities.
The juvenile
justice system is taking a different approach than the adult one, with
an emphasis on rehabilitation rather than punishment, the AP points out.
The juvenile system is focusing on the worst offenders, and steering
those convicted of lesser crimes to other programs.
The result
is that between 2000 and 2008, the number of
juvenile
offenders dropped 26 percent, from about 109,000 to 80,000.
While juvie facilities are losing residents, adult facilities are
getting more crowded. Take one of the biggest governmental budgets
anywhere: the state of California designates 11 percent of its state
budget to prisons, while
just
7.5 percent goes to higher education. Prisons here are so crammed
they operate with double the number of inmates facilities were built to
handle. And it's expensive, California spends about $50,000 per year per
inmate. Other states spend around $22,000 per year per inmate. If those
prisoners were out earning a living, even on a modest salary, they'd
easily offset such costs.
Couldn’t California find a better use
for $8 billion a year? Couldn’t all states find more productive ways to
spend the billions they allocate for corrections.
Even for
those who are deaf to the social well-being arguments, can we get your
attention if we just talk about the dollars?
Alyssa Giachino
is an economics writer for TheLoop21.com. She has worked as a reporter
in New York, New Jersey, Mexico City and California covering stories on
labor, the environment, immigration and politics.
“Pakistan’s
army chief ought to be involved in some form, to ensure checks and
balances, to ensure good governance,” Musharraf insisted. This is
something of a surprise as Musharraf has retired from the army and is
seeking to return to power purely as a political candidate.
Glenn
Beck has landed the cover of the New York Times Magazine.
If there is a greater measure of mainstream acceptance (dare we say
legitimacy?) in the media I can’t think of what it is, other than
perhaps a full hour on Oprah. It also marks a turning point of
sorts, I think. Message being: Beck has arrived on the top floor, but
can he stay there. 
Hecklerspray has learned
that one of Hollywood’s finest, actor Tony Curtis, has died. His
daughter Jamie Lee Curtis’ representative, has confirmed the sad news.
