Prison Politics
Thursday, July 14, 2011
On the Brian Lehrer Show today at 10:06. Audio and a recap will be posted by 1pm.
David King, state government editor at Gotham Gazette, looks at how Gov. Cuomo negotiated the choice between losing jobs upstate and separating families downstate in picking which under-utilized prisons to close. Plus, where are prisoners being counted when it comes to redistricting?
Comments [2]
Why close downstate and pump up upstate?
Since the 1950's NYS has been an engine to use downstate money to support the ever shrinking upstate economy.
Poor, poor, upstate NY is a welfare client. This is simply another method to supply welfare to upstate NY.
However, upstate NYS is less poor than it appears, as the Regional Cost Of Living is nearly half, comparing upstate to downstate.
The real problem with upstate NY is there are evermore less jobs, and no prospects except for more wealth trransfers like this from downstate.
Keep the prisoners happy? Are they not in prison for a reason and is not prison a place of punishment? When criminals chose to commit their crimes, they CHOSE to be separated from their families and leave their households in turmoil. That was their choice and these are the resultant consequences. Given the stupendously horrific nature of the crime in Boro Park this week, if a huge number of us really want THAT perpetrator to live contented, happy, and close to his nearest and dearest, then I'm done. Maybe there are some advantages to living in 3rd world countries.
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