More Bad GOP Math: Sen. Wayne Kuipers Edition
The [comically-right wing] radio station WOOD 1300 recently ran a story about Sen. Wayne Kuipers proposed alternative(s) to Gov. Granholm's plan to reduce state spending on prison costs by releasing some non-violent offenders. The Michigan GOP wants to keep pretending that we can incarcerate our way to a utopia, regardless of the cost (or the massive failure rate of this policy).
"GOP Claims Prison Money Can Be Saved Without Releasing Inmates
WOOD Radio | Wednesday, April 29, 2009
... "Wayne Kuipers, from Holland, is one of those with proposed laws that would do more to try to reform prisoners, rather than simply house them. For instance, he wants to see some sort of mentoring process to oversee associations and friendships that an inmate might make behind bars. And he proposes five specific conditions inmates must meet in order to be eligible for parole, including tests to show he or she is free of addictive drugs, including alcohol." (Source...)
There are, of course, no details on Kuipers webpage, nor his Twitter feed (though he did mention that he was part of a tree-planting event at an elementary school; I suppose that begins to undo some of the anti-environmental policy he's supported over the years ... ?).
Kuipers has been shopping this idiotic farce around for years. He appeared on a July 20, 2007 episode of "Off the Record" to present his plan for reform to the corrections system. At no point during the discussion does he offer ANYTHING resembling a concrete plan plan, and he ignores attempts to introduce reality into the discussion (like the impact of the economy on recidivism - which he admits he hasn't even analyzed). A particularly hilarious moment comes right off the bat when Kuipers is asked by John Lidstrom from the Gongwer News Service "why is it a bad idea to make adultery a misdemeanor?" and Kuipers completely dodges the question.
Like a good politician, Kuipers sticks to his non-plan plan arguing "there there is programs out there, faith-based and non-faith-based, that can help change the behaviors of some of our criminals." The lie he's telling is that we can keep our harsh sentencing guidelines and that there are inexpensive or free ways to rehabilitate prisoners. The reality is that we're now paying the piper for the hundreds of millions of dollars in social services funding that have been cut out of Michigan's budget since the 1990s.
I would contact Kuipers' office to get the names of these "programs" he references and information on where their success rates can be documented - but I know from previous experience that I'll be ignored (Kuipers is a big supporter of the Bush Administration's "Abstinence-Only" sex education programming and when I asked his office for evidence of several claims he made about the success of such programs, they never delivered. This is unsurprising, however, given the dismal failure of these programs as both the rates of sexually-active teens and teen pregnancy have increased under the Bush Administration after massive declines).
It's also pointed out by John Lidstrom that these sorts of programs were cut by the Republican-led legislature to save money 15 years ago. This raises an excellent point: the extent to which Kuipers and his Republican colleagues have caused the current problem by 1) pushing for increased penalties and mandatory minimum sentencing (which have swelled the sizes of our prisons), and 2) by slashing funding for health and social services programs that reduce rates of addiction/substance abuse and help prisoners re-enter the working world.
On the first point, here's a list of the legislation Kuipers has supported: increased penalties for and a broadened definition of gang-related activity, increased penalties for tampering with public safety devices, shelved (as Judiciary Committee Chair) bills that would have eliminated sentences of life without the possibility of parole for juvenile offenders, and many other things.
On the second point, it's well-documented how much the cuts to social services in Michigan have contributed to crime, and the Michigan GOP-controlled senate (as well as all of the GOP's gubernatorial candidates) have campaigned on platforms of MORE cuts to social services (as well as to education). Kuipers has actively opposed additional funding for social services and even appropriating additional funds for things like Community Health.
"GOP Claims Prison Money Can Be Saved Without Releasing Inmates
WOOD Radio | Wednesday, April 29, 2009
... "Wayne Kuipers, from Holland, is one of those with proposed laws that would do more to try to reform prisoners, rather than simply house them. For instance, he wants to see some sort of mentoring process to oversee associations and friendships that an inmate might make behind bars. And he proposes five specific conditions inmates must meet in order to be eligible for parole, including tests to show he or she is free of addictive drugs, including alcohol." (Source...)
There are, of course, no details on Kuipers webpage, nor his Twitter feed (though he did mention that he was part of a tree-planting event at an elementary school; I suppose that begins to undo some of the anti-environmental policy he's supported over the years ... ?).
Kuipers has been shopping this idiotic farce around for years. He appeared on a July 20, 2007 episode of "Off the Record" to present his plan for reform to the corrections system. At no point during the discussion does he offer ANYTHING resembling a concrete plan plan, and he ignores attempts to introduce reality into the discussion (like the impact of the economy on recidivism - which he admits he hasn't even analyzed). A particularly hilarious moment comes right off the bat when Kuipers is asked by John Lidstrom from the Gongwer News Service "why is it a bad idea to make adultery a misdemeanor?" and Kuipers completely dodges the question.
Like a good politician, Kuipers sticks to his non-plan plan arguing "there there is programs out there, faith-based and non-faith-based, that can help change the behaviors of some of our criminals." The lie he's telling is that we can keep our harsh sentencing guidelines and that there are inexpensive or free ways to rehabilitate prisoners. The reality is that we're now paying the piper for the hundreds of millions of dollars in social services funding that have been cut out of Michigan's budget since the 1990s.
I would contact Kuipers' office to get the names of these "programs" he references and information on where their success rates can be documented - but I know from previous experience that I'll be ignored (Kuipers is a big supporter of the Bush Administration's "Abstinence-Only" sex education programming and when I asked his office for evidence of several claims he made about the success of such programs, they never delivered. This is unsurprising, however, given the dismal failure of these programs as both the rates of sexually-active teens and teen pregnancy have increased under the Bush Administration after massive declines).
It's also pointed out by John Lidstrom that these sorts of programs were cut by the Republican-led legislature to save money 15 years ago. This raises an excellent point: the extent to which Kuipers and his Republican colleagues have caused the current problem by 1) pushing for increased penalties and mandatory minimum sentencing (which have swelled the sizes of our prisons), and 2) by slashing funding for health and social services programs that reduce rates of addiction/substance abuse and help prisoners re-enter the working world.
On the first point, here's a list of the legislation Kuipers has supported: increased penalties for and a broadened definition of gang-related activity, increased penalties for tampering with public safety devices, shelved (as Judiciary Committee Chair) bills that would have eliminated sentences of life without the possibility of parole for juvenile offenders, and many other things.
On the second point, it's well-documented how much the cuts to social services in Michigan have contributed to crime, and the Michigan GOP-controlled senate (as well as all of the GOP's gubernatorial candidates) have campaigned on platforms of MORE cuts to social services (as well as to education). Kuipers has actively opposed additional funding for social services and even appropriating additional funds for things like Community Health.