Another prison fight?
Governor-elect Andrew Cuomo sent a clear message to Upstate prison communities yesterday: prepare for lean times.
Cuomo made his first post-election swing stop at Sing Sing, for historical reasons, as the New York Times points out, but also to foreshadow potential budget cuts in the prison system:
“On the prison side, the census is dropping; that’s good news,” Mr. Cuomo said. “We are locking up fewer people. But then you need fewer facilities. And the shrinkage of that system is going to be something that has to be thought through and managed.”
He said the state could not afford to have on its payroll state workers who have no real duties.
“I understand the economic consequences of losing state jobs,” Mr. Cuomo said. “The answer can’t be we are going to employ state workers who literally have no function.”
That’ll get the attention of places from Cape Vincent to Ogdensburg to Malone well before Cuomo even takes office.
Here’s the question, though: voters went overwhelmingly for less government spending last week, both nationally and right here in the North Country. With a smaller inmate population, what’s the argument against Cuomo’s logic?
There is no (good) argument.
Let’s see how far this goes. On the surface, it would seem that he is using the logic that was lost during the fight over Ogdensburgh and others.
If 2.0 can actually carry out the agenda that he has verbalized, I may have to change my opinion of him.
About the only halfway good argument is the one that kept Moriah Shock open, that massive prison closures would leave many North Country communities as welfare cases, and just as expensive for the State to support.
Not much of an argument, given the times.
There is no argument to support the continued employment of state workers who literally have no function. With that in mind I think we can dismiss about 10% of rank and file State employees and 90% of the higher echelon brass!
The argument would be he is wrong the prisons are not empty, they are overcrowded and anymore overcrowding would make them even more unsafe. The second argument would be that North Country prisons are the most cost efficient safest prisons in the state and for that reason should be the last to close.
It is not a good argument to say we can’t close the prisons because the guards and administrators need jobs. That is in fact a pathetic argument and if that IS the only argument the prisons should close.
The Federal deficit commission suggests lowering cost of living increases to SS recipients. We ought to do the same in NYS for retired state employees.
“There is no argument to support the continued employment of state workers who literally have no function. With that in mind I think we can dismiss about 10% of rank and file State employees and 90% of the higher echelon brass!”
But if we were too eliminate the higher echelon then how would all the do-nothing jobs be filled?
“The Federal deficit commission suggests lowering cost of living increases to SS recipients. We ought to do the same in NYS for retired state employees.”
Try getting that one past Shelly Silver.
No real opinion since no prisons except for the County Jail are located in Hamilton County.
But speaking of prisons, I do wish they were built differently than they are.
I think they should be built so that no prisoner ever comes in contact with any other prisoner. Basically, everyone gets solitary confinement until released. This would eliminate all the rapes, murders and other assorted nonsense that goes on.
No TV. No radios. No movies. No shared meals. No religious services. No nothing but maybe some books, newspapers and time to think.
If you think this would be too harsh, I wouldn’t be opposed to cutting time served in half.
Pete,
I understand the sentiment, but isolation is in fact torture, the human species needs interaction to live and we go literally nuts if we were to really spend 5 or 20 years in solitary confinment.
But on the other hand this proposal would require even more prisons and more employees as it would be very expensive to give each guy his own cell and own food and own recreation.
scratchy says:
November 11, 2010 at 8:36 pm
“The Federal deficit commission suggests lowering cost of living increases to SS recipients. We ought to do the same in NYS for retired state employees.”
Try getting that one past Shelly Silver.
Ignore that Scratchy, he/she/it is just trying to bait me.