Daily Archives: February 19, 2008

Prisons

Prisoners Out Of Sight, Prisoners Out Of Mind

On Sunday, the LA Times reported the results of an investigation which revealed that the Department of Corrections has routinely miscalculated prison sentences, costing state taxpayers as much as $44 million dollars and clogging the worst prisons in the country, which has a cumulative effect.

Records obtained by The Times show that in August, the state sampled some inmate cases and discovered that in more than half — 354 of 679 — the offenders were set to remain in prison a combined 104 years too long. Fifty-nine of those prisoners, including (Nicholas) Shearin, had already overstayed and were subsequently released after serving a total of 20 years too many, an average of four months each […]

The errors could cost the state $44 million through the end of this fiscal year if not corrected and more than $80 million through mid-2010. But California’s overburdened prison agency waited more than two years to change its method of awarding credit for good behavior after three court rulings, one as early as May 2005, found it to be illegal.

Officials were giving some inmates 15% good behavior time instead of the 50% to which they were entitled. The state fixed release dates for only those inmates who requested it, according to a spokesman for the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, who said there was no evidence in Shearin’s file that he complained.

In addition to having a flawed corrections system, it’s just flat-out incompetent as well.

I believe that a fish rots from the head down, and this kind of inattention at the Department of Corrections can reasonably be seen as a direct result of a political leadership in Sacramento that is obsessed with being Tough On Crime ™ and really doesn’t want to see prisoners leave state jails.  Aside from the fiscal issues, this is essentially taking away the fundamental rights of citizens of the state.  As State Senator Gloria Romero notes:

State Sen. Gloria Romero (D-Los Angeles), who chairs the Senate’s public safety committee, said inmates have a fundamental right to a timely release. She criticized the prison agency’s “arrogance in the face of the law to simply say that these people’s lives don’t matter, but they can just lock them away and essentially throw away the key.”

The more errors like this, the more inmates locked up for more periods of time.  This causes overcrowding, which strains treatment and rehabilitation services and creates an environment where the inmates are in more control than the corrections officials.  Suddenly nonviolent offenders are in a school for how to commit violent offenses rather than a means to turn around their life.  And the recidivism rate soars, as those who actually get to leave prison are not equipped to do anything to go back.

This all feeds on itself.  If we want to get serious about prisons, we’ll do the work to reverse it.

California

CA04: The Veterans Charity Challenge-Vote for Your Favorite!

( – promoted by David Dayen)

As you know, so many of the big challenges facing America-both here in CD4 and across the country—simply cannot wait until January of 2009 for action.

That's why together, we've made this campaign

not
 about partisan politics as usual–but solving problems and leading by example.
Beginning last spring, we provided vital support to several area veterans organizations, and to relief efforts for those displaced by a devastating wildfire in South Lake Tahoe.

In September, we went a step further—committing 5% of every dollar raised in this campaign to support organizations helping veterans and families in need—through our
Promises Kept Veterans Charity Challenge
.

In the months since, we've received letters from many worthy organizations, each doing incredible work.

This week, we've selected
three finalists
 for you to consider as our first donation recipients under the "Promises Kept" program.

All told, we're going to contribute
$17,500
 this quarter, but how much each organization receives will be determined by
your votes
—
polls will be open until 11:59 PM on February 29.

Click Here to learn more about our finalists, and to Vote Now!

The Gathering Inn, Francis House , and Soldiers' Angels
 are each good examples of community based service delivery to veterans and families in need. And there are many others.

By strengthening our awareness about the important role these and other groups play in helping at-risk veterans, and providing financial support where it is needed most, we are moving one step closer to the objective of no veteran left behind.

Click Here to learn more about our finalists, and to Vote Now!

And if you know of a community based organization that is working to help veterans and families in need, please encourage them to visit our
Promises Kept
 page, and submit a letter of interest today.

We will be conducting future online votes in the months to come, and all organizations who apply will receive consideration
throughout
 the year.

After years of scandal and partisanship first representation in Washington, what was wrong in California's 4th district is now past.

Together in this campaign, we are showing what is right about a future where people of all political stripes come together, stand for real change, and take action to solve problems.

Thank you again for making this unprecedented program possible, and your commitment to a new standard of leadership in Washington.

Remember, change starts with the actions we take today.

Onward to victory,

Charlie Brown, Lt. Col. USAF Ret.

P.S.

Don't forget to
vote in the Promises Kept Charity Challenge Giveaway today!

Visit our Website

Contribute

Bay Area

Green Business Book Tour in CA — W/ Correction

I had a very short conversation with Gary Hirshberg, “Chairman, President and CE-Yo” of Stonyfield Farm, the organic dairy.  Gary has a book out, Stirring It Up: How to Make Money and Save the World, in which he uses his 25 years of experience to “try to shatter the myth that environment and commerce are in conflict.”

Gary was boarding a delayed plane so we didn’t get a chance to talk for long, but the plane is coming to my area of California so we’re going to try to pick up the conversation in person.  I’ll write more then, but I wanted to let you know that he will be talking about the book tonite in San Francisco and also tomorrow at a couple of locations:  (See this link)

February 19th Commonwealth Club, San Francisco, CA, 5:15 reception, 5:45 program, tickets required.

February 20th University of California at Berkeley – Hass School of Business, 12PM. NOT AT Stanford University, Stanford, CA, 12PM as previously posted.

February 20th Book Passage Bookstore, Corte Madera, CA, 7PM

If you get a chance, stop by and hear him talk about the book.

Budget

The LA Times Is At It Again

6 Comments

Back in December, after a series of articles in the LA Times that framed our budget crisis as the product of locked-in spending, I wrote an op-ed challenging this view that the Times published, arguing that by focusing on spending rules, the paper was not informing readers of the actual problem – a structural, long-term revenue shortfall.

Unfortunately, that does not seem to have stopped the Times from continuing to espouse this view. Today’s paper brings us an article by Evan Halper with the headline“In closing state budget gap, vast sums are off limits”. In this case the spending rules that are examined are “novel” programs, but the basic conclusion is the same as usual – California’s budget crisis is the result of locked-in spending, and not a structural revenue shortfall.

The state is about to pump half a billion dollars into teaching children to roll sushi, juggle pins and master new dance forms, even as spending cuts threaten to erode instruction in reading, math and other fundamentals.

That’s because the sum scheduled to be spent on such after-school enrichment next year is off-limits for anything else. State law dictates that cooking classes continue even if some calculus courses could be canceled.

In good economic times, voters have passed ballot initiatives that devoted billions of dollars to novel social and recreational programs, such as the after-school initiative championed by Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2002, before he was governor. It is intended to keep youths off the streets by offering them extracurricular activity — like cooking, juggling and dance — as well as tutoring and volunteer opportunities.

Such measures lock spending into the state Constitution, forcing lawmakers, many of whom endorsed the propositions, to keep funding them despite a lack of cash for some essential services.

Certainly it is true that these kinds of programs have locked-in funding, and it is also true that if one takes a cuts-only approach to the budget, these programs would be spared while others deemed more central are slashed. But this frame and analysis has some serious problems to it, discussed below…

The first is that it reinforces the idea that our problems are the product of wasteful spending that out-of-touch Sacramento legislators aren’t willing or able to tackle. After-school programs are not exactly novel or frivolous methods of education – many educators and pedagogical theorists are adamant that they are vital to helping children learn.

Second, why aren’t tax breaks framed as frivolous and wasteful leftovers from the “good times?” That was how Mark Leno framed the VLF cut that Arnold made as his first act as governor – which costs the state some $5 billion each year. Or the yacht loophole, which George Skelton notes has the cruel effect of protecting the rich at the expense of the poor? Why is it that some Californians get the frivolous privilege of paying property tax rates that haven’t changed in 30 years? This article simply reinforces the idea that spending on parks, schools, and social services is frivolous, whereas blatantly unfair tax favoritism isn’t.

In fairness, the article does mention that “some lawmakers say Sacramento should not have to choose between one program and another and should instead be raising taxes to pay for them all,” and the Times has recently published columns by George Skelton and David Lazarus about the injustice of tax cuts that are paid for by spending cuts that hit the poor the hardest. It’s not as if the Times is silent on this issue, but it continues to frame the budget crisis – especially in its news reporting, and in the choice of what parts of articles get emphasized – as the product of an inability to cut spending.

Even though it features Darrell Steinberg and Fabian Núñez calling for tax hikes to prevent crippling cuts, the article still closes with this line:

The governor, however, proposes making a one-time trim of about 10% — less than $60 million — from after-school programs next year, if voters oblige.

But aspiring chefs need not panic. Such a cut might not diminish after-school offerings. Schwarzenegger says the state can get enough money largely by taking back funds from classes that are undersubscribed.

As Brad DeLong is so fond of saying, “why oh why can’t we have a better press corps?”

Los Angeles Area

No one to run for CA Sen. 29?

I just talked to someone with the California Democratic Party, and apparently no one has stepped forth to run for the Senate seat of Bob Margett in the 29th District.  I was told that “[someone] would step forward to take it on.”

Not that this fact bothers me.  I just love being told by my Senator, when I write in support of a single-payer health plan, that it would make the doctor’s room look like the DMV (from what I can tell, if a doctor takes HMO patients, the room already does…).

I hope that organization in other parts of the state where people are being termed-out is better than it is here.

Uncategorized

Steve Filson Drops Out in AD-15

As reported by Randy Bayne, Steve Filson is dropping out of the race for the Democratic nomination in AD-15. From Filson’s website:

Dear Friends and Supporters:

It is with great regret, that we are suspending our campaign for the California State Assembly. There are a constellation of reasons both personal and political that I have reached a point to make a tough choice.

I want to thank everyone who has been with us. You understood the importance of winning this seat and converting it to a Democratic one. I still think that is possible and very important but having two strong opponents in a Primary brings more harm than good. Therefore it is best if we help clear the field so that our Democratic contender is ready for the general election which will be very tough.

For those many folks who donated their time, I can’t thank you enough.

For the time being I will be analyzing my next steps. For the many great new friends I have met during this campaign, I’m sure we will cross paths again. Again, I thank everyone for their support.

Warm regards,

                                             Steve

This would seem to leave Joan Buchanan as the strongest contender for the Democratic nomination in the district – which is one of the most favorable to flip from red to blue this fall.