February 29, 2008

5 States Spend More on Prisons Than on Higher Education, Report Says

While one of its findings made more headlines — that about one out of every 100 U.S. adults is behind bars — a recently released report from the Pew Center on the States also shows that increases in states’ corrections budgets are far surpassing those for higher education.

From 1987 to 2007, the amount that states spent on corrections increased 127 percent, more than six times the 21-percent increase that states directed to higher education over the same period, according to the report.

The report also showed that for the first time, five states spend more on corrections than they do on higher education. Those states are Connecticut, Delaware, Michigan, Oregon, and Vermont. However, the average state spends about 65 percent more on higher education than on corrections. —JJ Hermes

Comments

1. I weep for the state of my state. (Oregon)

   — barbara    Feb 29, 04:14 PM    #

2. Those right wingers and their prisons: just throw money at the problem and it will go away.

   Perhaps some serious outcomes assessment is needed here; I mean how do they know their corrections procedures actually work?

   — Jim    Feb 29, 05:22 PM    #

3. I am amazed that California is not on this list. Higher education budgets are shrinking, and prison costs are spiralling out of control, partially thanks to the influence of the prison guards’ unions.

   — Bunny Clemes    Feb 29, 07:30 PM    #

4. Assessment? Haven’t you heard? The current crop of right-wingnuts in W-DC and their ilk make all of their policy decisions based on solid scientific research—unless the findings disagree with their preconcieved notions. I, too, am in a state (MI) where the priorities are upside down. The Republican State Senate has held the governor, the State House, and the citizens of the state hostage to their 1950’s view of the world. Michigan can survive the decline of manufacturing in the state; we may not survive the wingnuts.

   — pcurly    Feb 29, 08:47 PM    #

5. Seems to me if you spent more money on education, you wouldn’t need to spend it on so many prisons.

   Nah. Too ridiculous, huh?

   — kgotthardt    Mar 1, 07:45 AM    #

6. Perhaps if more people took responsibility for their actions and had more self-respect and respect for others we wouldn’t have so many in prison.

   — Mike    Mar 1, 07:48 AM    #

7. Perhaps just as important, the Pew Study points out the USA incarcerates more people (per capita and as a gross number if I recall correctly the AP report) than any other nation in the world including Russia and China. The Five States of Shame are not that unique among the 50 states.

   We have to decide if we really believe in the future to actually put our resources where our collective mouth is – education from pre-K right through college. Maybe then we can regain our economic and political standing in the world. This is one time when I believe the saying, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” really means something.

   Just what are we going to do when these prisoners eventually are released from prisons and they have few if any appropriate skills or abilities to function in a legal economy?

   — Rick    Mar 1, 08:21 AM    #

8. We have more people in prison because people don’t give a crap about their fellow citizens. They woud rather steal and be criminals then try and earn an honest wage.

   — Mike    Mar 1, 07:24 PM    #

9. I completely agree with kgotthardt and others on the fact that if we were to spend more money on education from pre-K to college, the problem of incarceration would not be as big as it is right now. Educating our citizens should be a top priority; if we provide our citizens with educational opportunities, then less people would end up in prisons. Plain and simple. We can not let the prison budget squeeze what’s left from the education budget.

   — ES    Mar 2, 11:58 PM    #

10. Mike, a large percentage of those who make up the prison population are there on drug charges — buying and using, not selling. They are not murderers, rapists or thieves — at least not when they go in. Also, one must look at the number of people who end up in jail for what starts out as a busted tail light and ends up with felony resisting arrest, etc. Funny just how many isolated incidents of that there are.

    — Daisy    Mar 3, 10:48 AM    #

11. Well Daisy…looks like if you commit the crime you’ll do the time.

    — mike    Mar 4, 08:20 AM    #

12. Mike, unless you are a professor of criminal justice or sociology, you should keep your ignorant thoughts to yourself. The world isn’t black and white and cliches like your last comment are just juvenile and thoughtless.

    — Alisa    Mar 6, 03:52 PM    #

13. Do the crime, do the time, unless you work for the government, a well-conected corporation, or are just rich and famous.

    — Ben    Mar 7, 05:16 PM    #

14. Let’s see now, the average cost of incarceration for an inmate is $25K per year. Wow, that’s enough for a 4-year degree at some colleges!! Wouldn’t it be wonderful if kids weren’t allowed to quit school and were given a $25K credit upon graduation for higher education. Maybe we’d have more college graduates than inmates!!!!

    — Shirlean Streater    Mar 8, 05:40 PM    #

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