Originally posted in a LVRJ forum
This all starts with a derelict criminal court system. You have all the innocents behind bars who received incompetent legal representation, who are waiting for new legal facts like DNA testing and testimony recants to exonerate them. Then you have those serving sentences for non-crime crimes like drug dealing and doing some activity without a license.
Then there are the violent felons who were wrongfully convicted. They also deserve to be released. OJ comes to mind.
If we emptied the prisons of all the convicts who don't deserve to be there we could *slash* the prison budget. But Dept of Prisons is pehaps the most opaque bureaucracy in the state. A reform-minded citizen can't find any specific legal data about the prison population. What are they hiding?
Showing posts with label Prisons. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Prisons. Show all posts
Monday, January 18, 2010
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Why Do We Allow CCSD To Dehumanize Special Kids?
Originally posted in a LVRJ Forum
The district spend $38,998 a year per student at the school, which compares to the district average of $7,546.33 per student.
Fuzzy accounting. CCSD spends > $10,000/yr per average student. That's right.
Why do we even let CCSD get its hands on these special kids? The Nevada constitution requires that the state provide benevolent institutions to take care of residents with severe challenges. And it does.
The constitution established public education for poor kids who want a education but otherwise wouldn't have a chance. Like most government agencies, CCSD is neglecting its limited legal mission (in this instance, to teach the 3R's to poor kids) while expaning into roles which it is NOT authorized.
It's all about the money.
Furthermore, why would anyone want to sentence such kids to the incompetent CCSD? Their parents aren't looking to teach them *football* skills. CCSD can't even teach the 3R's to "normal" kids. What makes you think they can accomplish anything with kids who have real problems? I'd sooner trust the Dept of Corrections to do a better job.
The district spend $38,998 a year per student at the school, which compares to the district average of $7,546.33 per student.
Fuzzy accounting. CCSD spends > $10,000/yr per average student. That's right.
Why do we even let CCSD get its hands on these special kids? The Nevada constitution requires that the state provide benevolent institutions to take care of residents with severe challenges. And it does.
The constitution established public education for poor kids who want a education but otherwise wouldn't have a chance. Like most government agencies, CCSD is neglecting its limited legal mission (in this instance, to teach the 3R's to poor kids) while expaning into roles which it is NOT authorized.
It's all about the money.
Furthermore, why would anyone want to sentence such kids to the incompetent CCSD? Their parents aren't looking to teach them *football* skills. CCSD can't even teach the 3R's to "normal" kids. What makes you think they can accomplish anything with kids who have real problems? I'd sooner trust the Dept of Corrections to do a better job.
Friday, May 15, 2009
Nevada Taxpayers Must Be Nuts
Originally posted in a LVRJ Forum
32.6% of the Gibbons budget was eaten up by HHS. The goal of small, constitutional government would have been served by cutting this cesspool down to its constitutional minimum: management of state institutions for the mentally ill and disabled. The HHS budget is completely opaque. A little transparency, please! Gibbons counts ~4,000 in-patients, and budgets ~$130M per year (less than 20% of HHS's overall budget).
The Public Safety budget (9.5%), at $285M per year, is perhaps most opaque of all. How many inmates are victimless criminals? Release them and CLOSE most of the prisons. Fire the political hires (ie females are guarding males). Stop enforcement of non-crimes.
I would not want to throw the helpless out into the desert, or parole violent felons, but I think that by attacking the waste within these legitimate functions, we could save a bundle. I conservatively estimate more than 50%.
32.6% of the Gibbons budget was eaten up by HHS. The goal of small, constitutional government would have been served by cutting this cesspool down to its constitutional minimum: management of state institutions for the mentally ill and disabled. The HHS budget is completely opaque. A little transparency, please! Gibbons counts ~4,000 in-patients, and budgets ~$130M per year (less than 20% of HHS's overall budget).
The Public Safety budget (9.5%), at $285M per year, is perhaps most opaque of all. How many inmates are victimless criminals? Release them and CLOSE most of the prisons. Fire the political hires (ie females are guarding males). Stop enforcement of non-crimes.
I would not want to throw the helpless out into the desert, or parole violent felons, but I think that by attacking the waste within these legitimate functions, we could save a bundle. I conservatively estimate more than 50%.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
A Small Government Budget
Originally posted in a LVRJ Forum
83% of the Gibbons budget was eaten up by K-12, NSHE, & HHS. The goal of small, constitutional government would have been served by cutting these items down to their constitutional mininima.
K-12 spending (37.1%) could have been reduced to less than $2M per year by abolishing every public school except one per district. Taxpayer support for NSHE (13.7%) could have reduced to $0.00 by eliminating all University activities except practical instruction in Agriculture, Mining, and Engineering.
HHS (32.6%) is a cesspool of waste. It's only constitutional duties are management of the state institutions for the mentally ill and disabled. The detailed budget is still opaque, but it counts ~4,000 in-patients, and budgets ~$130M (less than 20% of HHS's overall budget). The prison budget ($285M per year) is perhaps most opaque of all. How many inmates are victimless criminals? Release them and CLOSE most of the prisons. How many guards are women? Fire them. I would not want to throw the helpless out into the desert, or parole violent felons, but I think that we could save a bundle by attacking the waste within these legitimate functions. I conservatively estimate at least HALF.
Many folks are a lot more familiar with PERS than I. I think we should abolish the benefit. It's overly generous, especially for employees who perform now (or did before retirement) NEGATIVE work. Offer buyouts if need be. The rest of the budget is either small fry or unconstitutional bureaucracies deserving abolition.
At a glance, my freedom budget works out to less than $250M per year. More than my oft-cited $100M figure, but not bad for an hour's work.
83% of the Gibbons budget was eaten up by K-12, NSHE, & HHS. The goal of small, constitutional government would have been served by cutting these items down to their constitutional mininima.
K-12 spending (37.1%) could have been reduced to less than $2M per year by abolishing every public school except one per district. Taxpayer support for NSHE (13.7%) could have reduced to $0.00 by eliminating all University activities except practical instruction in Agriculture, Mining, and Engineering.
HHS (32.6%) is a cesspool of waste. It's only constitutional duties are management of the state institutions for the mentally ill and disabled. The detailed budget is still opaque, but it counts ~4,000 in-patients, and budgets ~$130M (less than 20% of HHS's overall budget). The prison budget ($285M per year) is perhaps most opaque of all. How many inmates are victimless criminals? Release them and CLOSE most of the prisons. How many guards are women? Fire them. I would not want to throw the helpless out into the desert, or parole violent felons, but I think that we could save a bundle by attacking the waste within these legitimate functions. I conservatively estimate at least HALF.
Many folks are a lot more familiar with PERS than I. I think we should abolish the benefit. It's overly generous, especially for employees who perform now (or did before retirement) NEGATIVE work. Offer buyouts if need be. The rest of the budget is either small fry or unconstitutional bureaucracies deserving abolition.
At a glance, my freedom budget works out to less than $250M per year. More than my oft-cited $100M figure, but not bad for an hour's work.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)