Can We Ever Turn Our Direction Around???

There's a reason those criminals in the photo above are dancing.

Got my current issue of Forbes today, and an article on page 34 (issue dated April 24) practically made me gag. I know liberals have had their way in this particular area but I really didn't know how bad it was until reading this article and doing some investigating on my own on the internet.

The article name is Con Game, and the subtitle is The prison industry has a perverse incentive to keep the inmate population growing. Make it compete.

Now we all know liberals love to manipulate people with their guilt attacks and prisoners (criminals) and prisons are among those that receive a huge portion of their compassion - they sure don't care about victims or the law-abiding in society. I checked out just one random prison website, this one operated by Florida and what they offer inmates:

• Wellness education including fresh start smoking cessation program, wellness education, weight training, sports leagues, music/band, and hobbycraft
• Library Services - Library Program, and Major Law Collections
• Substance Abuse Programs - Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous
• Chaplaincy Services - Active T.D. Jakes Satellite, Chapel Library Program, Kairos Week-ends, Religious Education, Way Home Bridge Builders, Worship Services, and Faith-Based Dormitory
  

I think I remember reading of days when prison was something to be avoided. Now, prison is something criminals come back to - it's so much more comfortable and certainly can't be considered punishment. From Forbes:

Federal and state governments spend more than $35 billion a year to lock up a greater portion of the population--one out of 138 Americans--than any other country on earth. The prison population keeps growing, mainly because our recidivism rates are sky-high. Half of former inmates return to prison. It is time to ask: What are we getting for the dollars spent on this growing revolving-door system?

Liberal comforts make prison life appealing. Add to that is most (if not all) correctional officers are unionized. Again, from the Forbes article:

I am not saying that jailers do this consciously or purposefully. But the system is so broken that the very people we entrust to rehabilitate prisoners actually profit from prolonged prisoner stays and quick prisoner returns.

Take, for instance, the correctional officers union in California. This union has become one of the state's top political contributors. It has pushed not just for higher wages but for tougher laws and longer sentences.

What a gross mistake - governments letting correctional officers to become part of the liberal-socialist union machine - big mistake. Now you and I pay the price. What price?

If you want to take on a big, failing, self-dealing bureaucracy that succeeds (and grows) by betraying the public interest, don't focus on the welfare system. Deal with the prison system. California spends $7.4 billion a year on prisons, more than on all its four-year colleges and universities combined. Nearly a dime out of every state dollar goes into California prisons, which house 170,000 inmates. What return do Californians get on their investment? An alarming 57% recidivism rate.

How can we justify continuing to spend $40,000 to $100,000 annually per inmate in neighborhoods where we spend less than $9,000 per pupil?

That's your money, that's my money. Actually if you're in Oregon our unions cost us much more per pupil that that. The compassion of liberals do not extend to the honest taxpayer. The liberals just expect us to pay for their socialistic programs - or else! They are good at extortion and to get more prisons their equation is simple - more prisons or we will release criminals into your streets. If you love flipping the bill for criminals then continue to vote liberal!