Cut the Prison Budget

It’s clear that Michigan's budget is in trouble again. Last year’s tax increases pleased no one, so revenue increases are off the table. The economy is not going to bail us out so the only choice is to cut spending, and the most obvious place to start is the prison system.

Michigan puts more people in jail for longer terms than any of the Great Lakes states - yet studies show we are no safer as a result. Michigan spends more money on prisons than on higher education - an embarrassment shared by only three other states.

Michigan could cut hundreds of millions from the prison budget by releasing inmates who pose little danger to society. But politicians are never going to do this because they are afraid. They are afraid of being branded “soft on crime” and they are afraid that one of the thousands released will do something bad. Because they are too scared to make the tough decisions, everyone is going to suffer from the state’s broken infrastructure, failing schools and inadequate government services.

If Michigan businesses and citizens don’t want to pay higher taxes, they have to tell their representatives they are willing to accept the risk of reducing the prison population. Even if it is the right thing to do, the politicians will never do it alone.

As Franklyn Roosevelt once said: “You’ve convinced me. Now go out and make me do it”.