opinion
Save Ex-Inmate Programs, Save money
O
ne of the first places state
and federal governments
look to make cutbacks in
an attempt to balance their bal-
looning budgets is in the penal
system. As a result, ex-offender
re-entry programs that help reha-
bilitate those who are at risk for
returning to prison are on the
chopping block. Sure, cutting
funding to these programs may
help balance budgets in the short
M aTHiS ’ M iNd
Judge Greg Mathis
incarcerate them. Additionally,
communities and individuals will
continue to be victimized by crime
and trapped in a seemingly never-
ending cycle.
Recently, USA Today reported
on these cutbacks and the impact
In many states, the number of ex-
offenders committing new crimes has
increased, partly because of cuts to
programs
term. But, as ex-offenders become
repeat offenders and return to jail
or prison, we end up shelling out
more money in the long run to
they could have on states across
the country. Florida, for example,
saw a small decrease in the num-
ber of ex-offenders who commit-
ted a new felony while on proba-
tion. Instead of looking at the big-
ger picture and continuing to
invest in programs designed to
reduce recidivism, Florida, in an
attempt to get its fiscal house in
order, plans to cut such programs.
Other states are also weighing sig-
nificant budget cuts to all parts of
their criminal justice systems.
This is just bad business. In
many states, the number of ex-
offenders committing new crimes
has increased, partly because of
cuts to programs that help them
transform their lives and stay out
of prison.
Any state considering such cuts
should look to Michigan for guid-
ance. Budget gaps and increasing-
ly high unemployment rates have
lead lawmakers there to address
both problems with a novel plan:
help ex-offenders find and keep
jobs that will keep them out of
prison. According to a report by
the Institute for Research on
Poverty, Michigan has used job
avoid making budget cuts to
prison re-entry programs at all
costs.
In these difficult economic
Michigan has used job placement
programs to cut the prison population
by about 15 percent
placement programs to cut the
prison population by about 15 per-
cent during the last four years and
has saved more than $200 million
each year.
Here’s hoping other locales will
follow Michigan’s lead. With your
help, maybe they can. Call or
write your county, state, and feder-
al legislators and demand they not
be so short sighted; ask that they
times, it is only reasonable that
lawmakers conserve resources
where they can. The criminal jus-
tice system, particularly ex-
offender re-entry programs, is not
the place to make these cuts. Our
lawmakers must think about the
effect these budget reductions will
have on our overall safety and the
economic impact they will have
on taxpayers down the road.
koch Brothers: Libertarian, Free market Enthusiasts
A
ccording to the liberal left
media, Charles Koch is
gearing up to help raise
and spend $88 million during the
2012 election cycle. Most African
Americans have never heard of
billionaire brothers Charles and
David Koch, but if they could be
“good people to know.” Charles
and David Koch are the owners of
Koch Industries, which is head-
quartered in Wichita, Kansas.
Their annual revenues are estimat-
ed to be $100 billion. Their hold-
ings include: Oil refineries, four
thousand miles of oil pipeline,
Brawny paper towels, Dixie cups,
Georgia-Pacific
lumber,
Stainmaster carpet,
and Lycra. Koch
Industries is the sec-
ond-largest private
company in the
USA, after Cargill.
If Koch Industries
were a public com-
pany it would rank
about 16 in the
Fortune 500. Their
combined fortune of
$35
billion
is
exceeded only by
those of Bill Gates
and Warren Buffett.
Charles Koch is
Koch Industries, Inc’s chairman of
the board and chief executive offi-
cer. Charles and David Koch’s and
his strategy for running a business,
Market Based Management
(MBM), is described in his 2007
book The Science of Success,
which promotes long-term plan-
ning for success even at the
expense of short-term gains. The
Kochs are empirical examples of
successful capitalists. Koch is a
libertarian and his philanthropy
includes co-founding the Cato
Institute, the Institute for Humane
Studies, and the Mercatus Center.
The Kochs and their affiliates
have recently been recipients of
received negative media coverage.
Charles and David Koch were
raised as Libertarians, and advo-
cate individual liberty, especially
freedom of expression and action.
Liberal Democrats accused the
Koch brothers of funding opposi-
tion
against
Obama
Administration’s policies. It’s a
B uSiNeSS e XCHaNge
William Reed
spurious argument, the Kochs and
their foundations have been donat-
ing to many pro-free market
organizations and think tanks long
before Obama came into the
White House. For more than 40
years these brothers have been
steadfast proponents of individual
and economic freedom. Through
their personal involvement and
private foundations they lawfully
support activities and causes con-
sistent with their beliefs. Koch
Industries is the
source of funds for
free market foun-
dations and caus-
es.
Koch
Industries and its
subsidiaries spent
more than $20
million on lobby-
ing in 2008 and
$12.3 million in
2009. Enterprising
Black groups and
individuals may
want to take note
that the Kochs’
network of non-
profit groups, once centered
around sleepy free-enterprise
think tanks, seems to some to be
emerging as a more ideological
counterweight to Bush-era GOP
political operatives. This has
cheered fiscal conservatives seek-
ing to reorient their political appa-
ratus and aspirations around free-
market, small government princi-
ples and candidates. In recent
years the Koch brothers have
increasingly focused their giving
on more activist groups, and, per-
haps more significantly, they have
used their influence to help guide
millions more in contributions
from other major conservative
benefactors, primarily through
twice-a-year donor summits they
have been organizing since 2003.
The conferences bring together
roughly 150 wealthy conservative
business titans or their representa-
tives to hear presentations from
politicians and thought leaders to
fund their non-profits. At the most
To prosper,
Blacks should
steer clear of
‘hating those
they know not
of’
recent summit in Rancho Mirage,
Calif., the Kochs and their invited
donors pledged to contribute $49
million towards an $88-million
budget goal for policy and politi-
cal projects in the 2012 election
cycle.
To prosper, Blacks should steer
clear of “hating those they know
not of.” Among the hundreds of
organizations that have received
support from Koch companies
and/or the Koch foundations are
Americans for Prosperity and
Americans
for
Prosperity
Foundation.
Youth
Entrepreneurs® Kansas (YEK)
was founded in 1991 by the
Charles G. Koch Foundation to
teach business and entrepreneurial
skills in high school classrooms,
and offers hands-on experience to
help students succeed as business
owners or employees. YEK chap-
ters teach free enterprise funda-
mentals through hands-on experi-
ences and encourage students to
start their own business, enhance
their business skills for future
career opportunities and continue
into higher education. Many
Koch-funded YEK programs are
located in inner-cities. Students
write a business plan, participate
in classroom competitions, and
receive school credit for success-
fully meeting class completion
requirements. YEK graduates’
involvement
is
maintained
through the Alumni Program,
which promotes continued learn-
ing opportunities and community
service.
william reed is available for
speaking/seminar projects via
Baileygroup.org)
Week on the Web
Mideast
countries
erupt in protest … in
“Breaking News”
A Somali teenage
pirate was sentenced
to 33 years in prison
for his role in holding a
ship and its crew
hostage … in “Breaking
News”
A defense contractor
standoff tests the budg-
et cutting resolve of
President Obama. At
the center of the controversy is an
expensive jet engine for the F-35 …
in “National News”
Bahrain, Yemen, Egypt and other
Culture Critic Kam
Williams reviews a
new book by Taboo of
the Black Eyed Peas …
in “Entertainment and
Music”
Actress
Jennifer
Hudson talks about getting on with
her life after the tragic murders of
her mother and two other close
relatives … in “Entertainment and
Movies”
www.
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february 16, 2011 The Portland Skanner Page 5