Californian's spending priorities are badly misplaced.
- In the last two decades, taxpayer dollars have built twenty one prisons and just one public university.
- For each person in state prison for a year, the state spends over $47,000, while we spend less than $7,000 per year for K - 12 students.
- Over the past 30 years, we've increased our spending on prisons by nearly 1500%, compared to just 4% for K -12 education and health services.
Such spending makes no sense, especially in an era when state and local lawmakers must make painful cuts each year to balance budgets.
Tell California law makers: it's time for smart justice.
That means prioritizing law enforcement resources for serious crimes, making sentences fit the crime, expanding successful approaches that reduce jail and prison populations, and using those savings to focus on health, education and prevention.
- In the last two decades, taxpayer dollars have built twenty one prisons and just one public university.
- For each person in state prison for a year, the state spends over $47,000, while we spend less than $7,000 per year for K - 12 students.
- Over the past 30 years, we've increased our spending on prisons by nearly 1500%, compared to just 4% for K -12 education and health services.
Such spending makes no sense, especially in an era when state and local lawmakers must make painful cuts each year to balance budgets.
Tell California law makers: it's time for smart justice.
That means prioritizing law enforcement resources for serious crimes, making sentences fit the crime, expanding successful approaches that reduce jail and prison populations, and using those savings to focus on health, education and prevention.