California budgets more on prisons than public schools?

[Jim Warren]

Can this be true, Californians?

The source is somewhat unimpeachable I think, guest speaker Sister Helen Prejean at The Commonwealth Club Ca. The program originally aired in Feb. '06 but I got to a hear a replay yesterday on my local NPR affiliate. What an incredibly powerful speaker this woman is, had me fixed to the radio for an hour.

[Democrats_win]

1. The new California will be called: Texas.

[Poppyseedman]

2. If they deported the 15,000 illegal criminals currently being housed

in California, costing almost a half a billion dollars, maybe the two budgets would be closer.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

5. I'll bet the marijuana users are even more. -nt

[Poppyseedman]

6. Can't agree more. Our stupid drug laws are ridiculous

Between the recreational drug users in prison and the ones that should be sent back to their country of origin, the prison probably would be half empty.

[Clovis Sangrail]

3. doubt it

Over the last year I've also heard a lot of people bleating that we spend 50% of our budget on education.

so... between education and prisons there's nothing left in the budget???

sounds wrong to me... but I'll look for a breakdown of our budget.

[Clovis Sangrail]

4. nowhere near that much

(forgot to add... that's dollars in thousands)
not even without adding in higher ed budget.

From the state legislative analyst's office
http://www.lao.ca.gov/LAOMenus/lao_menu_economics.aspx

03-04
Youth and Adult Corrections: 5,389,031
K-12 Education: 29,332,745
Total Budget: 763,332,32

04-05
Youth and Adult Corrections: 6,968,185
K-12 Education: 34,139,473
Total Budget: 79,803,987

05-06
Youth and Adult Corrections: 7,658,252
K-12 Education: 36,056,498
Total Budget: 90,293,704

06-07
Youth and Adult Corrections: 8,080,957
K-12 Education: 39,881,241
Total Budget: 97,901,837

[sweetheart]

7. have to factor in the police and courts

The "whole" cost of the california justice system is outrageous.

The book by james P Grey, "how our drugs laws have failed and
what we can do about it." They construct the statistical argument
that, on current trends, by 2020 everyone in california will
either be working for the police/prison establishment or in prison.

[Clovis Sangrail]

9. oh

I was responding to the op's query

California budgets more on prisons than public schools?

Adding in all associated costs will change the picture significantly.
...but then again the picture would change significantly doing that with just about anything.

[Tom Joad]

8. Been going on for a long time.

And the prison guards union is something to be feared here, by any politician. They get big fat raises while other state workers get cut-backs. They were alos behind the three strikes law, which filled up the prison system. Crime, and making the prison system big, it pays for them.