Let Some People Go!

There was discussion on the radio today about reducing Michigan’s prisoner population—and no, it wasn’t Neo-Cons pushing wholesale capital punishment. It was the director of the Department of Corrections talking about early release for low-risk prisoners. I hope this idea gets some legs; reducing our prison population is way overdue.

We could save $150,000,000 per year by reducing the prison population by 20%, without compromising public safety. The parole board automatically denies consideration for parole for many classes of prisoner. Our incarceration rate is too high and climbing. The parole board routinely denies parole despite solid evidence that most first-offenders who are convicted of CSC, Murder 2, VCSA, and many other crimes have very low recidivism rates. A conscientious parole board would sort out the good risks from the bad ones, not refuse to consider anyone who was convicted of certain crimes. “Life means life” is not sound public policy it’s a political mantra. For more information visit sites such as:
http://www.justicepolicy.org/
http://www.capps-mi.org/
https://www.mackinac.org/article.aspx?ID=35

If we cut our prison population from 50,000 to 40,000, the savings would be $300,000,000 at $30,000 per prisoner. Pour half of that savings into prisoner re-entry programs and we would still save $150,000,000–and greatly improve the social fabric in our state.

Think about it: In 1984 Michigan had 15,000 prisoners and the population was 9.2 million. Today we have 50,000 Michigan prisoners and the population is 10.2 million. Do you feel three times as safe as you did in 1984? I think we could reduce the prison population by two thirds without compromising public safety, but let’s start with a modest 20%.

Unfortunately, our parole board members are gutless bureaucrats who refuse to do the job they were hired for and our legislators are knee-jerk jerks who can’t see beyond the next election. They are afraid to tell the public anything it does not want to hear.

I don’t have much hope that Michigan will adopt any sane corrections policies in my lifetime; but if you are educated far above average, and are capable of understanding what our government cannot, you might want to give this some thought.

John B. Payne, Attorney
Dearborn, Michigan; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
(800) 220 7200
FAX (313) 562 3340
©2008 John B. Payne, Attorney
www.law-business.com

Federal Dollars Should Benefit Citizens, Not Shareholders

According to January 18, 2009 New York Times, bankers see the federal TARP bailout money as a handout for the banks’ benefit. Just listen to John C. Hope III, the chairman of Whitney National Bank in New Orleans at the following URL:

http://tinyurl.com/8zvcfk

He sees the $300 million in government money his bank received as an insurance policy for the bank, not as an incentive to help citizens in trouble. “Make more loans?” Mr. Hope said. “We’re not going to change our business model or our credit policies to accommodate the needs of the public sector as they see it to have us make more loans.”

For Mr. Hope, the Whitney National Bank chairman, “the main motivation for TARP” was to safeguard his bank against the “possibility things couldget a lot worse,” not for any public purpose. The Whitney, he says, would continue making loans “that we would have made with or without TARP.”

“We see TARP as an insurance policy,” he said. “That when all this stuff is finally over, no matter how bad it gets, we’re going to be one of the remaining banks.”

Feathering the nests of wealthy bankers was not Congress’s goal in shelling out the first $350 billion of our tax dollars. It was to encourage the banks to help citizens stay in their homes and keep their jobs.

It is easy to understand why Mr. Hope lacks empathy for ordinary citizens. His annual compensation is over $2.3 million. As CEO of a large financial institution, his first obligation is to ensure its health. However, he takes on civic responsibilities when his bank accepts a huge grant of federal funds. He is obligated to use those funds for the public good. Drop Mr. Hope a line and tell him you hope he sees the light. His office address is:

Whitney National Bank
228 St. Charles Avenue
New Orleans, Louisiana 70130
(504) 586-7272

He is also listed at:

1832 Palmer Ave
New Orleans, Louisiana 70118
(504) 862-5772

After you drop the misnamed Mr. Hope a line, contact your Congressional delegation and the President. Let them know that you want federal funds to be used to help people in trouble, not to insure institutions that are doing well already.