Walker’s priorities
A constellation of articles in the Feb. 21 Journal Sentinel was thought-provoking.
The front page reported Gov. Scott Walker’s plan to shrink the parole board from eight members to one, thereby effectively postponing release of approximately 3,000 people convicted under laws allowing parole hearings and release (“Walker plan would shrink parole agency to one worker”). Walker’s plan may increase prison costs and, therefore, taxes by keeping those people incarcerated much longer.
On Page 3, another article explains another burden faced by families with a loved one in the prison system, besides their absence from the family home (“Inmates seek John Doe probe over accounts”). A variable portion of funds sent by families for inmates’ personal needs, such as soap, deodorant and phone calls, are withheld by the Department of Corrections, allegedly for payment of other costs. Apparently, there is no accounting for that money unless the inmate files a complaint.
A small article on Page 2 mentions that Walker is spending campaign funds to publicize the $600 million he proposes in tax cuts (“Walker’s campaign buys ads to tout state budget”).
I see a glaring disconnect between penny-pinching to cut the parole board and the possible consequence of longer confinement costs for 3,000 prisoners. I see a glaring disconnect between pinching funds of mostly poor families struggling to support a loved one in prison and the governor touting a potential $600 million in surplus funds.
With so many amazingly kind and generous Wisconsin citizens working to improve well-being in areas of health, education, economics, communication, etc., why does the state appear so vindictive? Shouldn’t our state reflect who we are?
I would prefer to invest my portion of the $600 million tax reduction into rehabilitation and then release of prisoners so they can then contribute to the state economy and their family’s economy. I would like our state to work toward that goal rather than reduce my taxes by a small percentage that I won’t even notice.
Mary Krolikowski Milwaukee