The Prison Payday Loan

In the most recent post to Scott Henson’s mainly criminal-justice oriented blog, Grits for Breakfast, he sheds light on the aim to reduce education costs for inmates in the state prison system as one of the frantic statewide budget reduction tactics as well as the glaring near-future consequences this would have over the minimal short-term gains. 

            An intended audience for this particular piece might be anyone interested in some of the targeted budgets in Texas’ frantic attempt to cut costs across the board, so to speak.  This post specifically might target those with a special interest in the recidivism rates of the Texas prison system, or the probability of an offender to offend again and re-enter incarceration.   This seems to highlight an interesting trend among these budgetary debates, where everyone is wary of cutting too much in the wrong places at least to some extent, but where those directly affected by the programs themselves scream desperately in a veritable field of such outcries to save their specific fields from the big, green axe, most with good reason. 

            The author’s experience in journalism, campaign politics, and ground-level bureaucracy certainly lend to his credibility on the financial goings-on during this time of emergency governmental penny-pinching.  His acute interest in issues regarding criminal justice stems from his extensive work with the Texas ACLU police accountability department and the Innocence Project, and has evolved into active public policy lobbying in related issues.  Reviewing the credentials, a more appropriate mouthpiece for this sort of issue would be difficult to find short of a wronged collegiate inmate in the flesh.

            This may have been the safe horse, but I chose this article because I completely agree with it and the argument that Mr. Henson puts forth.  It is amazing to me that this even is up for debate, given what I would think to be the blatantly obvious red flag one would draw when observing this sort of future-blind budget cutting.  Yes, we need the money to come from somewhere, but in a case such as this, where not only immediate budgetary impact is miniscule, but the not-so-long-term repercussions exponentially worse, I liken this sort of action to a payday loan.  Get $400 now; pay back $2000 in two weeks.  It does not take a sociologist to point out the direct link between employment after incarceration and the likeliness of re-offending. Only slightly more research illustrates the already alarming prison bed deficit as Mr. Henson does.  Add in just a touch of common sense, and it seems easy to predict that cutting the cost of educating inmates in college and vocational courses would have a budgetary whiplash effect in just a few short years.  Mr. Henson has done impressive footwork on all of these facets of the argument, presenting more numbers than my College Algebra textbook.  Hey, numbers talk. 

            Of course, I understand the dire financial condition Texas is experiencing.  Additionally, I am not an economist, politician, or an activist.  I know the money has to be found somewhere, and that there are only a few ways to get it, and that most citizens here do not like the “T” word.  Even so, I would think there are obvious boundaries not to cross here, and apparently so does Mr. Henson.