It's Prison Time in America

image
Published: 16 Apr, 2015
Updated: 15 Oct, 2022
1 min read
Like it or not, the American campaign season is descending upon us. What that means for you and me is a host of new hopeful candidates pantomiming stale campaign platitudes.

You're probably saying, "fine, okay, nothing new there."

The problem is that when those candidates are elected to serve in public office, many times they actually do make good on those campaign promises. I'll explain.

One tried and true platform that is sure to be invoked during election season is public safety. Rhetoric that crime is prevalent and safety needs to be increased is popular with many politicians because it almost always rings true to voters.

"Has there been a crime in your area recently? Have you seen graffiti on buildings or streets? Wouldn't it be nice if that didn't happen anymore? I'm the candidate that will make it stop."

Voilà, your newly minted public servant now has a mandate to pass new laws that probably put people in jail and cost the state millions of dollars.

A new article in VOX sheds light on the accumulative impact that happens when a large number of legislators feel pressure to be tough on crime.

In Nevada, there are currently 35 bills in the State House that would create new crimes or stiffen penalties for existing offenses. Most of the proposed statutes do not have a significant impact on their own. But when all of these bills are piled together, they end up costing the state millions while also increasing the already overcrowded prison population.

Even bills that only imprison offenders for a year end up costing the state millions because similar bills are likely to be enacted in the next legislative cycle, creating a self-serving cycle that has increased prison populations during a period of time when overall crime has gone down.

Read the full article here.

Latest articles

Tulsi Gabbard
Is Tulsi Gabbard Being Sidelined by Another Party?
Tulsi Gabbard can’t seem to catch a break, no matter which party or administration she joins. First, she was ostracized by the Democratic Party in 2016 when she spoke out against the party’s unfair treatment against Bernie Sanders. At the time, she was a sitting Democratic congresswoman and DNC vice chair....
26 Jun, 2025
-
4 min read
A gas station with cannabis products on the pump with the US Capitol building in the background.
Congress Moves to Ban Unregulated, Intoxicating Hemp Being Sold at Gas Stations Nationwide
In a late-session vote last week, House Republicans advanced a sweeping change to federal hemp policy that could outlaw a wide range of intoxicating hemp products, sometimes referred to as “gas station weed,” as the hemp Farm Bill loopholes become a major policy issue in many states, including California, Tennessee and Texas....
26 Jun, 2025
-
3 min read
NYC open primaries picket.
On Primary Day, NY Orgs Picket on Behalf of 3.5 Million Disenfranchised Voters
Much of the election coverage on Tuesday focused on the New York primaries, especially in NYC and the hotly contested ranked choice election for mayor. What got less attention, however, were the 3.5 million independent voters in the state locked out of elections they paid for....
25 Jun, 2025
-
4 min read