Health care in prisons

After reading through the many blogs posted in Grits For Breakfast, I stumbled upon one where the blogger is commenting on an article that was recently published in the Austin American Statesman.  It details a variety of proposed facts about the potential financial benefits of paroling prisoners for the sake of saving the government bundles of money in “unnecessary” medical expenses. As I read through the information presented, I became increasingly frustrated with the idea that prisoners with severe medical disorders and complications would have an ankle bracelet slapped onto them and be sent back into society without any type of plan or available resources.

As I reached the end of the commentary, I was surprised, given the blogger’s background, that there were minimal thoughts or comments about what complications this action could cause for the state and country as a whole. The author is very active in criminal justice politics and does research for reform. I expected him to provide more facts about the negative impact paroling could have on not just society, but on the inmates as well. Considering that this blog is directed to a liberal crowd, I believe others probably feel similar to me in this regards. It is complicated issue that needs to be weighed out more evenly.

The basic argument is clear. Inmates need and utilize health care. This is costly. If we can find a way to parole more of the inmates that are using this health care, the government can apparently save money. The more complex argument happens when you dig deeper and try to determine how exactly will it work. Will the parole board be qualified to decide who is eligible? Will federal funds have to compensate for the state funds that were previously funding the health care?

It appears that the evidence is definitely one-sided. I am sure people can see and agree that there are financial savings that can be accrued if the number of inmates who are paroled is increased. What seems to be lacking are the dollar amounts on the other side of the issue. How many parolees will be eligible for SSI or SSDI and what will be the cost of this expense? How much will it cost to run the nursing homes and what will the impact be on local hospitals? Lasly, what is the human impact?

This blogger’s conclusion left me with a lot of unanswered questions. I know this is a sensitive and difficult issue to tackle, but I truly expected he would have put a lot more passion and effort into his counter attack!

Red to Blue?!

I have to say, this article in the Statesman gave me a good chuckle.  First let me start off by saying....

Texas, a blue state? What a wonderful thought, but unfortunately about as likely as pigs flying. It is great to hear that more minorities are taking leadership positions and it does create a sense of hope among the Democratic Party, however, I am fairly certain it will take more than two Hispanic leaders to motivate two million people to register and participate in the election process. People need to believe that they have a voice and that they can truly make a difference. Hopefully, the Castro brothers will generate change and perhaps additional minority leaders will begin to take charge. When people start to actually feel the results of positive leadership role models, this is when they are typically motivated to reshape their thinking and are sometimes open to the idea that they might be able to contribute to their own continued success.

But the leap from red to blue is not going to take place in the near future. It is going to take multiple successful Democratic, minority leaders to continue to push the unregistered Hispanic citizens to get out their vote. Resources need to be put in place to continue to educate and assist people with understanding the value of their vote. Politics can be a tricky and confusing thing to manipulate and keep up to date with. Ongoing education about current propositions and laws that directly impact the citizens need to be routinely shared and explained. Having two positive and proactive Hispanic leaders is definitely a step in the right direction, but I wouldn't hold my breath!

How I see politics...