It's All About Where You Cut

As Kelly stated in her post Cuttingbudgets on critical programs!! (shaking my head) the Texas government faces serious budget problems and lacks an appropriate method for solving these problems. I agree that the notion of cutting the already slim education budget is absolutely insane considering how poorly school systems in Texas perform relative to the other forty nine states in the Union. However, the low taxes in Texas are the main driver for the successful economic aspects of the state, thus I do not believe they should be raised. Rather, I believe the cuts should be made to areas where the government has indulged in blatant overspending such as the justice system.

 Consider that Texas spends around $21,000 on each incarcerated prisoner a year and has a non-violent prison population of around 90,000. A little multiplication tells us that the state of Texas spends right around $2,000,000,000 of tax payer’s money annually imprisoning offenders who pose no threat to the rest of society. Most of these offenders are charged with drug related crimes and even after serving prison sentences have a startlingly high rate of offending again and returning to prison. This is obviously not the most effective or cost friendly way of dealing with these non-violent offenders.  Texas should focus on helping these people, rather than simply imprisoning them, by investing in rehabilitation programs, halfway houses, etc. These programs are less of a drain on resources and they provide a way out for troubled citizens burdened by drug addiction. It just seems like common sense. The justice department must adjust to the changing times and acknowledge that not all crimes are equal. The number of prisoners in the Texas system continues to rise, but the rate of crime continues to fall at a much lower rate than that of the rest of the country. So in conclusion, the citizens of Texas are missing out on the possibility of better funded educational systems, healthcare systems, etc. without actually being any better protected from crime.

It is absolutely crucial that the government look several years down the road when considering the effects of cutting a program. What seems like a quick fix can often end up causing more financial damage than if it had simply been left alone, as Kelly alluded to in her discussion of recent cuts to family planning services. But if the research is done thoroughly, without bias, and with the citizens best interest in mind a balanced budget without a tax hike is possible.