FAMM's Florida project director Greg Newburn has a thought-provoking piece in the Orlando Sentinel today, arguing that prison closures are good news, not bad, for states -- even if those closures mean some lost prison jobs.
We see the jobs created when government builds a prison, but we don't see the jobs that would have been created if the money had been left with taxpayers. While legislators rightly care about the workers negatively impacted by prison closures, what of the people who can't find jobs because money that would have been used to hire them was taken in taxes? Who speaks for the unseen? ...
Prisons are not "employment and economic opportunities." Ideally, they are built to house offenders who have proved unable to cooperate peacefully in civil society. In Thomas Paine's words, they are "necessary evils." Prisons play a vital role in public safety, but they should never be used as jobs programs or payoffs to union bosses.
Government should not spend money on any project not necessary for the public well-being. Instead, it should leave as much money as possible with taxpayers, who can and will use it on projects they find worthwhile. Doing so will create real jobs of real value across the state.
It is easy to point to the prosperity of certain areas buoyed by state spending projects, but we should always remember that "to spend is to tax" because someone always has to pay the bill — and that someone is us.
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1 Comment:
I totally agree with this article. If every dime spent on and for prisons had to accounted for on the front end at sentencing taxes could be better handled and voted on by all taxpayers. Its time for Florida to look at the big picture addiction is an illnes and not in all cases is prison the answer.
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