[quote author="No_Such_Reality" date=1242902320][quote author="no_vaseline" date=1242901126][quote author="No_Such_Reality" date=1242900703]Sorry No_Vase, Hiltzik is a f-ing idiot. There's nothing brave, bright, or anything noteworthy in an article who's basic premise is we don't pay enough taxes. More pablum from the LA Times along the lines of all that's needed is more taxes.
How much does California pay per prisoner? How much do the Feds pay per prisoner?
The system is broken and the idiot Governor did nothing.
He didn't find inefficiency because frankly, he didn't look for it once the State Union spanked him, he rolled, played wimper boy and caved.</blockquote>
Answer: doesn't matter because the Federal prision system isn't under concent decree.
Hilzik doesn't go far enough. I was serious about shutting down the UC system in order to balance the budget.</blockquote>
Actually it does matter. For a little more than half, they run a system that doesn't fall under a consent decree.
That's the fundamental point. We pay massively more and get significantly less. It's not just the Feds, other States run prison systems way more effectively than we do and they don't fall under a consent decree. Why aren't they under consent decree? Because they use the money effectively.</blockquote>
They do so at half the cost because the feds sluff off the illegal immigrant problem on the states.
<a href="http://archive.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2006/3/27/114208.shtml">http://archive.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2006/3/27/114208.shtml</a>
<blockquote>As Investors Business Daily reported in March 2005:
"The U.S. Justice Department estimated that 270,000 illegal immigrants served jail time nationally in 2003. Of those, 108,000 were in California. Some estimates show illegals now make up half of California's prison population, creating a massive criminal subculture that strains state budgets and creates a nightmare for local police forces."</blockquote>
This is a simple accounting problem. Taxes are too low for the services demanded by citizens of Califonia. I don't care how they get the equation to balance, so long as they do it. They are going to radically cut services, which I'm OK about.
USC - stop being a sheeple. If they did all that stuff it won't contain MediCAL and the prison cost overruns. Maybe Gray Davis can launch a re-recall of Arnold! Nah.