Daily Archives: December 26, 2007

Arnold Schwarzenegger, Prisons

As the Prison Budget Goes, So Goes the Budget Deficit

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And both are skyrocketing. That we are unable to control our prison spending will lead to just one more in a laundry list of budget disasters in the coming years, but nothing in our budget has been so spectacularly mishandled like the prisons. They are our third rail: we are terrified of doing what is best in terms of public policy because the issue might be misunderstood by the voters. But ignorance of the voters can’t be a justified excuse if we are drilling the wrong policy messages into the minds of voters.

There are a number of reasons for the growth in the prison budget, but not all of them are necessarily tied to the growth of the prison population:

The prison population has grown by 8% since 2003, to more than 173,000. But the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s budget has exploded, increasing 79% to $8.5 billion, and is expected to top $10 billion next year.

Prison spending now is greater than that for any other major program except public schools and healthcare for the poor. The nonpartisan legislative analyst’s office projects 6% annual increases in prison spending for the next five years as a new prison and dozens of building additions are constructed and opened. (LA Times 12/26/07)

So, we’re trying to build out of a disaster that has served to only increase the dangers to public safety. And in order to correct our past sins, we are having to spend to fix the prison healthcare system. And spend. And spend some more. I’m not saying that we shouldn’t; we need to fix that system, it was disgusting and needed to be overhauled. But the problem is that we can’t bring ourselves to the inevitable solution: real sentencing reform.

And I have another solution that would help the budget and the prison system immensely: Stop the Legislators Runner.  Seriously, take away their pens, ban them from writing initiatives, put a cap on legislator initiatives, toss them in prison (I bet they have lots of friends there), whatever.  They are having a devastating effect on public safety and the state budget. Jessica’s Law has already had disastrous effects for cities like San Francisco, where sex offenders are now just declaring themselves homeless.  And now they are getting ready to put another initiative on the ballot:

Another initiative is being readied for the ballot next year by the authors of last year’s measure: Sharon and George Runner, two Republican lawmakers from Lancaster; she in the Assembly and he in the Senate. The proposed initiative, which has not yet qualified, would require the state to spend nearly $1 billion to combat gang crimes and lengthen some prison sentences.

“People are trying to do one-upmanship to claim ‘I’m tough on crime,’ and it has a cost to it,” said Sen. Michael Machado (D-Linden), who oversees the corrections portion of the state budget.

The Runners are idealogues who have obviously either failed to grasp that ToughOnCrimeTM has totally failed, or they are so cynical as to manipulate our prisons, the lives of thousands of Californians, and billions of our general fund dollars for their own political gain.

It is this type of cynicism that has gotten us to where we are. It is not this type of cynicism that will resolve the issues. If the Governator has the courage to address prison population, I will be duly impressed. Because if we do nothing, we are not only failing the prison system as an institution, but we are failing ourselves in the form of public safety and economic efficiency.

Uncategorized

As the Prison Budget Goes, So Goes the Budget Deficit

And both are skyrocketing. That we are unable to control our prison spending will lead to just one more in a laundry list of budget disasters in the coming years, but nothing in our budget has been so spectacularly mishandled like the prisons. They are our third rail: we are terrified of doing what is best in terms of public policy because the issue might be misunderstood by the voters. But ignorance of the voters can’t be a justified excuse if we are drilling the wrong policy messages into the minds of voters.

There are a number of reasons for the growth in the prison budget, but not all of them are necessarily tied to the growth of the prison population:

The prison population has grown by 8% since 2003, to more than 173,000. But the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s budget has exploded, increasing 79% to $8.5 billion, and is expected to top $10 billion next year.

Prison spending now is greater than that for any other major program except public schools and healthcare for the poor. The nonpartisan legislative analyst’s office projects 6% annual increases in prison spending for the next five years as a new prison and dozens of building additions are constructed and opened. (LA Times 12/26/07)

So, we’re trying to build out of a disaster that has served to only increase the dangers to public safety. And in order to correct our past sins, we are having to spend to fix the prison healthcare system. And spend. And spend some more. I’m not saying that we shouldn’t; we need to fix that system, it was disgusting and needed to be overhauled. But the problem is that we can’t bring ourselves to the inevitable solution: real sentencing reform.

And I have another solution that would help the budget and the prison system immensely: Stop the Legislators Runner.  Seriously, take away their pens, ban them from writing initiatives, put a cap on legislator initiatives, toss them in prison, whatever.  They are having a devastating effect on public safety and the state budget. Jessica’s Law has already had disastrous effects for cities like San Francisco, where sex offenders are now just declaring themselves homeless.  And now they are getting ready to put another initiative on the ballot:

Another initiative is being readied for the ballot next year by the authors of last year’s measure: Sharon and George Runner, two Republican lawmakers from Lancaster; she in the Assembly and he in the Senate. The proposed initiative, which has not yet qualified, would require the state to spend nearly $1 billion to combat gang crimes and lengthen some prison sentences.

“People are trying to do one-upmanship to claim ‘I’m tough on crime,’ and it has a cost to it,” said Sen. Michael Machado (D-Linden), who oversees the corrections portion of the state budget.

The Runners are idealogues who have obviously either failed to grasp that ToughOnCrimeTM has totally failed, or they are so cynical as to manipulate our prisons, the lives of thousands of Californians, and billions of our general fund dollars for their own political gain.

It is this type of cynicism that has gotten us to where we are. It is not this type of cynicism that will resolve the issues. If the Governator has the courage to address prison population, I will be duly impressed. Because if we do nothing, we are not only failing the prison system as an institution, but we are failing ourselves in the form of public safety and economic efficiency.

Health Care

Insurance Companies: Profit Through Creating Tragedy

Health care reform in California is in stall mode right now, and with each passing day the price tag for gathering signatures rises.  But between the twin fundraising efforts of the Speaker and the Governor, as long as they cancel travel for a month they should be fine.

What’s working against the proponents of health care reform, in my view, is the continuing tragedy of Nataline Sarkysian.  By November 2008 this will be out of the headlines, but within weeks the State Senate will be debating the merits of a reform measure that keeps the insurance companies in business to do this:

A Friday funeral was set for the Northridge teenager who died last week after her insurer refused to pay for a liver transplant and then reconsidered. Meanwhile, the girl’s health plan stood by its initial decision Monday.

Philadelphia-based Cigna HealthCare has a record of approving coverage for more than 90% of all transplants requested by its members, as well as more than 90% of the liver transplants, company President David Cordani said in a memo addressed to employees and distributed to members of the media.

This is definitely a time to be citing statistics.

CIGNA clearly makes decisions based on corporate profit and lawsuit threats.  They decide what treatments are “experimental” based on flowcharts and spreadsheets, not by looking into their customer’s eyes.  And their complete lack of empathy proves that they’re willing to let this continue.

Just the other day, a state appeals court ruled that insurers cannot play the game of canceling coverage because of faulty applications only when the patient actually needs to use their health care.

California health insurers have a duty to check the accuracy of applications for coverage before issuing policies — and should not wait until patients run up big medical bills, a state appeals court ruled Monday.

The court also said insurers could not cancel a medical policy unless they showed that the policyholder willfully misrepresented his health or that the company had investigated the application before it issued coverage […]

The decision came in a closely watched case involving Steve Hailey, an Orange County small-business owner whose coverage was canceled by Blue Shield of California after he had a disabling car accident. The ruling in favor of Hailey sends the case back to the lower court for trial and requires Blue Shield to pay Hailey’s appellate costs.

The types of tricks of the trade employed by CIGNA and Blue Shield are a nationwide trend.  Legislation and lawsuits have yet to stop them.  They’ll claim that they can’t do business without this kind of chicanery.  At some point, government must grant their request.