The Washington Re-Post

With almost 1.5 million Americans in prison, localities who house criminals are complaining that the localities that inter them are receiving their share of the federal pie.  Since the beginning of the republic, prisoners are counted as residents of the location of their prison.  Because federal funding formulas are based upon census figures, the old haunts of the criminals are seeking a change in the rules so that they can get rid of their prisoners but keep federal funding.  [1]

It is completely unnecessary to change the funding, if you want the funding build the prison in your own backyard Mr. NIMBY.

However, the high number of inmates point to another more important problem which is the number of individuals incarcerated for violation of non-objective laws.  Our paternalistic legislatures have made actions illegal in which no ones individual rights where violated, as a result there are TOO MANY Americans in prison. 

The most significant example is drug prohibition.  I do not take drugs and do not advocate taking drugs; however, if someone is going to destroy themselves, I am not going to force them not to eventhough I will argue that they should not.  Not only does the criminalization of this self-destructive behavior increase the prison population but it also foments the violence and corruption associated with the drug trade.  Further, drug criminalization weakens our allies in South America so correctly argue that it is a consumption and not a production problem.

[1]  Zachary A. Goldfarb, “Census Bureau, Activists Debate How and Where to Count Inmates,” The Washington Post, 1/30/2006, A15.

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