Michigan Votes Forum

g-ma. we invested plenty. they didn't pay any attention. they kept on doing the wrong thing. they ended up in jail where we are STILL investing heavily. THEY didn't invest the time or the effort in an education the first time it was offered to them for free, do you REALLY think that they will invest the time or effort now?

feel really good, wouldn't it, g-ma. so much for "i like to help the 'down and out'." you don't really care, you just hate me for disagreeing with you.

that all inmates are uneducated and jobless and such? My loved one has a high school diploma (graduated higher than me), went to trade school, is a union carpenter, has a job waiting for him when he gets out....I could go on and on. Not everyone is prison is stupid, lazy, and no-good. They made some bad choices in life, realize their mistakes, are trying to do what they can while incarcerated, so should be rewarded for their "good time".

Are you down and out? Hate you I don't know you but I sure don't care for the way you talk or treat people.You proably have lost out on some good friendships with your attitude.

There is one answer and I am sure many others that made a mistake are ready now. (Especially the young ones who made their mistakes when they were young and impulsive and are now young men and women.) I have seen so many of them over the last four years working very hard to become good citizens when they get out.

The three strike law will only increase the prison population,especially with all the things that are considered felons in Michigan right now.

You didn't read the whole post. The reinvestment would come out of the million we would be saving.

Prove it......

Stop talking about other state THIS is about MICHIGAN....now what can you do for MICHIGAN??? I'll bet you have not done ONE thing other than run your mouth here!

Anyone seen or listen to the news today? Eight states, Michigan is one of them, may be releasing inmates due to the economy and budgets. Now people are getting worried. May be the mass incarceration should have been looked at while it was happening instead of letting it get to this point. Prison reform is needed badly in our state. HB 4262 is a start and is one step towards fixing this problem.

Now is our time to act. Please everyone contact your Rep. and Gov. Granholm.

Are you really dranking coffee or something else?Some of your rantings are alittle twisted.

Yes more reforms are needed and this bill will help that get started. The changes needed are not the ones you will like at all.

They were children we were the adults may be we should have more on the ball back then and demanded more for our money.

Can you post what station you heard this on? I did not hear it on neither of my local news stations.I live in the Detroit area.

GO online and type in "news today April 4,2008 concerning releasing prison inmates". If this does not work let me know.

a savings, g-ma. it is SPENDING THE MONEY ESLEWHERE. now, show me how you intend to accomplish all these lofty goals and duplication of effort WITHOUT all the RE-INVESTMENT necessary under your plan. robbing peter to pay paul is NOT good economics. by the way, the SAVINGS you plan on won't pay for enough tethers to cover all the inmates you would have to release. what are you going to do now? tie them together like a kindergarden class and walk them around the streets?

you SHOULD have been more on the ball back then. what were you THINKING? WERE you thinking? the problem is, g-ma, that for all intents and purposes, you STILL aren't demanding more for your money. you are demanding LESS for your money, and accepting less than that in return. nothing in this bill will MANDATE the state budget be cut by any dollar amount. and that is the bottom line in this discussion. releasing inmates without cutting the budget only amounts to a department that makes more PROFIT. (i know how you liberals hate to see anyone make a profit.) imagine, an entire department of government making an extra twenty nine million dollars a year. now, using MY plan, the BUDGET (that's the amount of money they have to spend) WOULD GET CUT IN HALF. making sure that, in order for the department to make a profit, they would have to become hundreds of times more efficient with the spending of our money. you, for some reason or other, seem to have a problem with this. could it be that you have a CONFLICT OF INTEREST? on the one hand, you SAY you want to save money for the state, on the other hand, you say DON'T CUT INMATE BENEFITS. you can't have it both ways. saving the state money is NOT good for the inmate. serving the inmate is NOT good for the state. which is it gonna be, g-ma. it's time to make up your mind.

didn't hear it...

g-ma.. your's are a little twisted too. 'get with the program', g-ma.

prisoners are being released, and people are worried. how worried will they be when you release FIVE THOUSAND INMATES? no wonder gun sales are going up. thanks a boat-load, g-ma. i'll let you know how many of your precious prisoners i have to shoot in my living room when they break into my home. i also blame you personally for everything they will steal from me.

worth two billion dollars a year? a liberal's love.

Always the dooms-day man. Do you ever think positive? Or do you always see the worse?

Same old reply just a different day.

Then get to work on your plan. See how well it is accepted. The plan I posted is a reasonable, cost-effective plan. I did not creat it. Many people researched and studied and came up with these solutions. They can work and over time can save alot of tax money, and still address public safety.

Don't you wish someone loved you that much?

We have to reinvest in the system to fix the things that failed to work and we will start seeing results down the road. The results would be the savings.

You just keep rambling on. I don't hate it's not in me, if anyone who knows me heard you say G-Ma hates this and that they would laugh in your face. Your the one that keeps comparing the southern states with Michigan and telling us how great they are and how bad Michigan is. I just pointed out to you they have the same problems we have it's on line (and not in the numbers).

Did you find the news?

longer saying 'with no adverse effect on public safety'. i don't think that setting inmates loose is good for public safety. i've employed dozens of them, and only two, so far have worked out. i'm not bitter, just EXPERIENCED. i've had five who stole from me. i've had one who dealt drugs from my truck. i've lost plenty trying to give them a break. i've decided, after all that, that there aren't that many who deserve it. certainly not five thousand of them. you constantly ASSUME that every inmate is not educated, and that's why they commit crimes. this just isn't so. most are at least as well educated as the average citizen, some are downright brilliant. so, in my experience, your constant calls for MORE EDUCATION is uncalled for. are the southern states having problems? of course they are, but even so, they pay MUCH LESS than we do. obviously OUR problems are much worse. are the southern states perfect? no, but they don't pay two billion dollars a year for prisoners. we do. why is that?

have to re-invest to make the system work? 100% of our tax money? we already pay over half.

does love me that much. the real question is, why do you love inmates so much?

the TRUTH.

I can not guarentee you that no inmates will not reoffend, there are no guarentees in life. I have seen many elderly and sickly inmates that can hardly keep their heads up let alone hurt anyone. I have met many young inmates who are non-violent, low-risk offenders that just want to get out and get a chance to do the right things now, they made their mistakes when they were young an impulsive. They have matured now and want a second chance. Education does not just mean book wise. Teach them skills to help them get jobs. Teach them about anger management and substance abuse. Teach them about resources they can go to for help. This is educating them. AS for the southern states they are in a completely different demographic location than we are. The reforms I talked about can save one billion dollars over time. The bill we support can get that started. I see no bill for your concerns.

And it always negitive.

I only love one but I do care about SOME of the others.

Out of the 1 million saved we would have to reinvest about 30 million>

to get the other twenty nine million? release more violent inmates?

you love 'em all... each and every one.

the southern states are a completely different GEOGRAPHIC location. but i'm sure that's what you meant. otherwise, they are almost exactly the same. now, if you would like to raise some PRIVATE FUNDS to accomplish all this education that those inmates seem to have missed the first time around, feel free. otherwise, stop spending my tax money frivolously. it would seem that the liberal community would want to spend it's OWN money on all these worthy programs, wouldn't it? but NO. they want to spend MY money on them. why spend your OWN money when all you have to do is get a majority in the legislature and you can force (at gunpoint) the citizens to pay for whatever spending you can get passed. by the way, the liberals have been in control now for forty plus years, why haven't THEY done anything to curb this horrific spending? because THEY CAUSED IT. now, g-ma. are you going to donate the other twenty nine million out of your own pocket?