Arizona's plan to save money: Increase spending on prisons, cut health care and education

[The Straight Story]

Arizona’s Government Information Technology Agency (GITA) could be merged within the Department of Administration if lawmakers sign off on Gov. Jan Brewer’s budget proposal.

The approximately $3 million budgeted to GITA for fiscal year 2011 is transferred to the 2012 proposed budget for the Department of Administration, which provides support services to government agencies. GITA, which is responsible for the state’s IT projects and resources, is one of 10 agencies proposed for consolidation and merger.

“While these consolidations will provide only marginal budget savings, they will improve government operations,” the budget proposal said.

The budget proposal, released in January, relies heavily on health-care and education cuts to close the state’s $1.5 billion deficit. Cuts include dropping 280,000 recipients from the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System and reducing state spending to the universities by $170 million.

Prisons are one of the few areas recommended for an increase, with an extra $8.4 million to hire 100 new correctional officers in 2012, to be followed by 200 more over the following two years.

http://www.govtech.com/budget-finance/Arizona-Gov-Jan-Brewer-Proposes-Tech-Agency-Merger.html

[woo me with science]

1. ...

:banghead:

[neverforget]

2. neanderthals

[Newest Reality]

3. The priorities of a Corporate Occupation of a country

are painfully obvious.

America already has an deplorable incarceration rate per capita, (even over China) and the profits from private prisons are too good to pass up. Thing is, you can't legalize drugs because then you would be making obviously Draconian laws to support that industry and keep the money-makers, (cells) occupied.

Your laws are going more directly correlate with the need for prisoners at this rate. Hence, while you watch high-level "criminals" act with impunity over your heads, conversely, you yourself are fair game in the future. Having criminals who are a danger to others is one thing, making them is quite another.

Another chink in the thickening wall between two, very different Americas. How long will we ignore it? There is not much time left to keep asking.

[Jefferson23]

4. They are nuts, truly...despicable too. n/t

[phantom power]

5. I'm feeling that pride again...

:eyes:

[Blue_Tires]

6. Virginia seems to be following that plan as well...

[rhett o rick]

7. This is non-sustainable. The more people in prison, the greater the cost to

those not in prison. At some point the few not in prison wont be able to afford to pay. Capitalism can only bleed you soo dry. Then they collapse.

[FiveGoodMen]

8. Because Texas and Florida didn't have enough crazy for the US

Minnesota had to contribute Bachmann, Alaska gave us Palin...

And Arizon just keeps on giving.

[savalez]

9. Cut education? Oh no! They'll be a red state forever!

:) (just kidding fellow Dems in AZ)

[ThoughtCriminal]

10. Molly Ivins called Texas

The national laboratory for bad government.

Arizona has moved out of the lab to mass production.