The American prison system is one that is supposed to protect rather than harm. It is a system that was established to harbor society’s most violent criminals in an effort to provide the community with a sense of comfort and safety. However, over time that original concept has changed into one far greater than intended. Incarceration in America has been steadily on the rise. Every year there are more and more people being sentenced to prison terms, while less and less are on the streets to uplift the state of society. There are more and more fathers and brothers in prison and less and less men around to help fix the broken homes. According to the Bureau of Justice, in 1974 there had been a total of 1,819,000 people ever incarcerated in their lifetime. As of 2001, that number had jumped to 5,618,000 (Bonczar pp.1). This rise in the rate of incarceration has caused legislation to enact harsher punishments for crimes that were once viewed as minor. This rise in the rate of incarceration has caused legislation to neglect its duty to educate and instead instill its focus on imprisonment.
This turn that the prison system has taken is one that affects us all. We have all experienced a friend or relative that has had a run in with the law. The system is not a good place for one to be; because once you have entered it there is no getting out even after you have been released. This system that has been provided to protect us all harms us all at the same time. It uses our tax dollars that provide the means of operations for many prisons, with the exception of private ones. It is our families that are sacrificed for the benefit of the institution that will house our loved one. It is our lives that are turned upside down because we are morning our loss. But most importantly, this system provided to benefit us has turned into an income producing industry. It consumes more and more of the federal and state budgets every year. It is seeing a constant increase and expansion. Lastly, of all things, it is now being comprised of private investors from large companies that are seeking an increase in their own revenues. What’s left in the balance is our educational needs that are being sacrificed through a constant decrease in funding, while the prison system continues to receive increases in its funding.
Examine the state of New York for example. Between the years of 1984 and 1994, they had increased their correctional spending by $761 million while decreasing their educational spending by $615 million (Budget Priorities). That is a difference of $146 million that was given to the justice system instead of education. No state or organization can justify the reasoning for this great of a deficit. Education should be at the top of every federal and state’s list of priorities. Our schools educate our children. It is what allows them to grow up and become the president of the Unites States. It is what allowed our politicians to be elected as politicians to speak for us. Education is the sole basis of advancement within society.
Without a suitable amount of resources, such as adequate funding, to provide various ranges of learning techniques, students will in turn lack a good education. A lack of education plays a major, if not the primary, role in a lot of the problems in society, particularly criminal behavior. Education and Correctional Populations, a special report put out by the Department of Justice, states “68% of the state prison inmates did not receive a high school diploma” and “26% completed the GED while serving time” ( Harlow ). A proper education gives a person the tools necessary to be successful in life. It provides the fundamentals of society and what is expected of a person within it. Without a suitable education, one does not gain the knowledge nor the skills needed to provide and live within today’s society. As a result, people turn to criminal behavior to provide them with a lifestyle to meet their basic needs.
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where can i find more info?
Hi Dyslexia,
There is plenty of information that can be found on the Department of Justice website, through google, news outlets like The New York Times, as well as the Department of Education. Google is a good tool becuase it connects you to a lot of reputable outlets that you can browse through. Hope this is helpful if not, please let me know and I will do my best to help to you find exactly what it is that you are looking for.
The Reality Guru
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hey,Excellent blogging dude! i’m Tired of using RSS feeds and do you use twitter?so i can follow you there:D.
PS:Do you thought to be putting video to the web site to keep the visitors more interested?I think it works.Best regards, Nelda Morisey
Hi Nelda,
Thanks for the comment. I do have a twitter account and the Username is Freedom_Speaks. Another visitor had suggested I use more video as well. So sometimes I will include a video into a written post but mostly I make the videos a post all by themself. Since you are the second person to make the suggestion, I will consider adding videos to more written posts as well as doing them by themselves.
The Reality Guru
Funny, I was thinking along the same lines. Adam
Hi Adam, they say great minds think alike, lol! I am glad that you were able to find the post and actually enjoy a view of your own.
The Reality Guru
hey,just found your Blog when i google something and wonder what web hosting do you use for your blog,the speed is more faster than my blog, i really need it.will back to check it out,thanks!
Anybody having problems viewing this in google chrome, it looks all messed up. **Edit** Just opened it up in IE8 and it worked fine.
Thanks Tanya,
That seems to be the question of the night. I use hostmonster.
The Reality Guru
Hey Brandon,
I think the issue with google chrome may be the fact that it is still new. As time progresses I will be able to get an upgrade that will be compatible with chrome as well. But I am glad that you had an alternative and was able to still view the site.
The Reality Guru
Thanks very good for report, I follow your blog
The cost that is often involved with getting a better education or simple the time it takes to go to college is one of the main reasons why a lot of women never get opportunity to attain a college degree and better their chances of getting a better job.
I was not aware that you were a follower, I don’t have much of a way of knowing. But I am very glad that you are. Is there anything that you would like to see written about or expanded?
The Reality Guru
I can understand that perspective Private Schools. Woman are the child bearers, and when it comes to children and work, women are most often the ones to take the time off from work and/or school to be home to raise the children. It is especially hard for single moms that have to do everything on their own without that any added support. It’s a sad situation, but it’s true. I personally think things should be more balanced and evenly split amongst the parents so that each parent gets the opportunity to accomplish their goals, but it may be decades before that happens if it does at all. How do you guys feel about women often having to be the ones to leave work or school to care for the children full time?
The Reality Guru
One again, your articles is very good.thank you!very much.
Thank you Electronic Cig, and you are very welcome.
The Reality Guru
Interesting read, perhaps the best article iv’e browse today. We learn everyday cheers to you!
You are very true VHF, we do learn every day. Learning is a part of the growth process that we each must endure in order to sustain life. I am glad that you were able to learn someting new through this site. I hope that you will continue to be able to learn new things from it in the near future.
The Reality Guru
Good post,
useful blog, thank you for your work, keep on, guys!
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No problem Louboutin, thanks for the support.
The Reality Guru
Nice content. Thank you for your information.
Thanks MBT Tataga, I appreciate your feedback. Glad that you were able to find the useful information.
The Reality Guru