Prison spending bleeds education system

04-07-2011

Opinion by Benjamin Todd Jealous and Rod Paige/CNN

Benjamin Todd Jealous is president and CEO of the NAACP. Rod Paige was the U.S. secretary of education from 2001 to 2005 under President George W. Bush.

There is a bipartisan tide of lawmakers who are trying to fix our nation's out-of-control corrections system, and make funding for education the priority. California Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill to transfer thousands of nonviolent offenders from state prisons to county jails, an admirable effort to reduce prison overcrowding and make treatment programs more effective. In Virginia, Gov. Robert McDonnell is working to close eight prison facilities and use that money to support higher education. And Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger asked in his 2010 State of the State address: "What does it say about any state that focuses more on prison uniforms than on caps and gowns?" A new report by the NAACP, "Misplaced Priorities: Over Incarcerate, Under Educate" details the social and economic impact of runaway prison spending over the past 30 years. As prison populations have grown, prison spending has squeezed out spending on education. Between 1987 and 2007, the nation's prison population tripled, growing by 1 million people. The United States accounts for 5% of the world's population, but locks up nearly 25% of the world's prisoners. (more...)

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