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http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/10/opinion/10mon1.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

This is an important angle on the US prison crisis. Is it ethically acceptable to incarcerate people for profit? What if those people (and society at large) would benefit from another treatment or approach?

What about mandatory minimums? What about NON-VIOLENT drug crimes? These are important angles in light of the newest initiative by Kevin Mannix.

I believe that every effort shoudl be made to keep people out of prison and minimize the amount of time people spend in prison. Once people are sincerely contrite and accept responsibility for their crimes, they should be released and the taxpayer should be relieved of the burden of paying for them.

posted 5 years, 2 months ago
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David,

Here's my topic idea:
[b] Are you happy that Oregon is #1 in state spending on prisons?
Are you glad that Oregon is one of five states that spends more on incarceration than on education?"[/b]

Are these priorities serving Oregonians and preparing the next generation of children to tackle the tough probelms facing our state, country and planet?

The new study by the Pew Center on the States which includes these findings was covered by the Oregonian and almost every major national paper.

I was shocked and ashamed as an Oregonian to see where our supposedly progressive state ranks in spending among the fifty states. Oregon spends the MOST state revenue (as a percentage) of any state on incarceration. Oregon is one of only five states that spends MORE MONEY on prisons than on education. How progressive it that?

This is a very timely topic now that the next ballot will have Oregonians voting on the "Mastermind of Measure 11" Kevin Maniacs' newest fear-mongering initiative to SPEND ENDLESS AMOUNTS OF MONEY ON INCARCERATION of low level criminals and non-violent offenders.

This would be a great follow-up to the (unintentional?) fear-mongering topic of GANGS in Oregon.

Most Oregonians would agree that meth is bad and has created problems for the state, but how much do we spend on marijuana arrests/incarceration? I don't know the answer to that but my opinion is that $1 is too much. Oh Oregonians, why do you want to WASTE so much money? Do we have any less crime? Will you ever be safe?

posted 5 years, 2 months ago
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