Cut the Federal Prison Budget

News about the possibility of a government shutdown later this week strikes me as being a lot of hot air. As a federal prisoner, I live in a system that is the epitome of government waste. Legislators could easily cut a billion dollars from the federal prison budget with changes that would not compromise public safety one iota. In fact, I suspect introducing changes like the concept of earning freedom would make society safer.

Certainly, our country needs to incarcerate predatory offenders. Some prisoners may need incarceration for life. But our federal prison system incarcerates more than 200,000 people. Is it really plausible that none of those prisoners have earned freedom? Is it really plausible that the only way to serve justice is for taxpayers to waste billions to lock 20 percent of his federal prison population in unsecured prison camps?

Our federal prison system may represent only one symbol of government waste. Its budget rests somewhere between $6 and $7 billion each year. By creating programs that would allow nonviolent prisoners to work toward earning freedom through merit, legislators could cut this budget by more than a billion dollars. That would represent only 20 percent, enabling the system to keep predatory offenders locked up.

Not surprisingly, however, legislators don't discuss the wastefulness that exists inside the federal prison system. The prison guard union keeps such discussions off the table. It's the reason that despite my having served more than 8,600 days already, taxpayers will continue to spend tens of thousands each year to pay for my food, clothing, and shelter. Is justice really being served by my serving another 1,000 days?

 

 

 

Follow Michael Santos on Twitter: www.twitter.com/prisonreform

Comments

[Ed Staffire]

12:17 PM on 04/09/2011

I met Michael in the 1980's as he was being transfered to Seattle. An educated gentlemen who poses no danger to society. So why is he still using tax money to remain isolated from the rest of us. We REQUIRE a fundemental re-examination of our judicial system. Do we NEED 800,000 marijuana arrests a year to justify the number of cops on the beat? Of course not. When are we coming to our sesnses and figuring out that we pay huge amounts to protect us from the very items we are seeking to possess. Between our "brainson Drugs" commerical to DEA abuses of the citizens they proported protect we have a totally failed policy that someone needs to get the backbone to correct. Eliminate the DEA. Replace with rational drug law that understand the medical aspect of the difficulty. Quit destroying lives just because you can

[4mothernature2]

12:05 PM on 04/08/2011

I see the justice system as being 'unfair'. Yes, there are kids out there doing drugs and rather than get fined or doing community service, they're given 'felony convictions' (and disenfranchising them, no voting, no decent job opportunities when they get out, schools out, for most, since many jobs that they could do... require a clean record) so, what, they have to go back to drugs? That makes no sense. I had a prescription pill (with a valid prescription!) in an aspirin bottle. My car was 'randomly' searched, the forgotten pill was found (1 pill) and rather than be released on my own recognizances (46 year old female, clean record, college honor student, community volunteer...) I was slapped with a $50,000.00 BOND/Felony Charge!. (For only $5,000.00 bail bond, non refundable.... I could go home and get the prescription proof.... but I couldn't afford $5,000.00 NON REFUNDABLE. So, I spent two nights in jail. Even though I refused all food and beverages that whole time, the prison still had to make it, thus "pay" for it. Wasted money. OH! FYI... women aren't allowed t-shirts under their prison 'jumpsuits', and males work in the same area as female inmates. (Who knew?) Anyway, to urinate, a woman must unsnap from the neck down! (Exposing her bare chest) Ask me how many male Trustees and male Guards PEEK into the womens cells CONSTANTLY!? ' Perverts' aren't ALL.... convicts.

[Ed Staffire]

12:21 PM on 04/09/2011

What medievil principality do you reside in? And yea, psychology the guards are far worst then MOST of the retained.