The correctional system in my home state of Michigan takes up 22% of the state budget. In 2009, they looked to their prison system to make $120 million in budget cuts for FY 2010. Because of this trend, many community prisons across the country face the threat of closing.
Do you remember the post I wrote about the guy who saved $11,000 in wages from the inmate work program over 21 years? If you do, then you remember that the state of Illinois is trying to take his money to put toward the $455,203.14 it has cost to house him so far.
Local economies throughout the nation are threatened with collapse when facilities close. While the state moves to close prisons, they're at the same time trying to please citizens by crowding prisoners into other prisons instead of finding other solutions. Michigan on the other hand is trying to reduce the prison population through early release. For them, this saves the state money.
Why put prisoners back on the streets? They're gonna get out, and on top of not being able to get a job because of their record, there won't be any jobs to try to get. What next? A life of crime that's gonna land them back in prison? Only to be released or not even processed because of the cuts. What a vicious cycle. Why overcrowd the prisons? There will more violence and less care per prisoner. It's gonna turn into a huge humanitarian crisis that's just gonna cost more money to fix.
Instead of worrying about how much it costs to house a prisoner for X amount of years, and instead of putting them back on the streets, just send them to the military. It's the perfect solution. I'm not talking about people in the county jails (although they're overcrowded also), you know, people with DUIs and marijuana charges and whatnot. I'm talking about murderers, pedofiles, people who rob banks, bad ass gang members etc. It's really up to the government who they should send over there. I shouldn't have to think of everything. I just came up with the greatest idea in the world, do they expect me to tell them how to make it work?
If you're worried about putting guns in the hands of killers, think about the number of people who join the military as a last resort. Think about the people who were in and out of jail anyway. What about the people whose families didn't want them around anymore because they were a danger to society and themselves? They went to boot camp, got some type of rehabilitation, some leadership skills, eventually some money and status as a productive member of society. This shouldn't be any different with prisoners that are sent to the military in lieu of a prison sentence.
