Prisions or Prisoners

Well, the story's out that Michigan is one of four states that spends more on prisons than on higher education.

To say this is pathetic is obvious. The real question is what are we going to do about it?

The state can go two ways: declare that this is a cost problem requiring privitizations or equally dubious tactics, or recognize that sentencing guidelines and procedures have gotten warped beyond recognition and that we have too many citizens in The System.

Keep in mind that Kent County had to build a dedicated mental health wing when they built a new jail. Or consider Jenn's odious recommendation last year that the state could save a lot of money by releasing elderly, sick prisoners back into the community to cut down on health care costs - as if they had some place else to go once they were tossed out.

And never mind the fact that an overwhelming majority of the people in Michigan's jails are minorities, with the resulting destruction of family structures and communities.

So what's it going to be: more of the same - or some progressive leadership that says the ways of the past have failed, and it's time to try something new.