WI not getting its money’s worth in corrections spending

Taxpayers are rightly concerned about the impact of education spending on their tax bill. It is the biggest chunk of our property taxes. But we should not ignore what is being spent on prisons in the Badger state, especially given the outcome of the incarceration. Wisconsin’s incarceration rates are higher than the national average, and the state, despite its size, has one of the largest corrections budgets in the nation. The current state budget allocates more than $2.7 billion dollars to the Department of Corrections, making it the third largest expenditure in the budget. Wisconsin spends $220 per resident on corrections, higher than the national average, and higher than all of our neighbors, Minnesota, Michigan and Iowa. But our prison system remains mired by understaffing, inmate deaths and abuse. Some progress has been made, but not enough. Governor Tony Evers had a goal of cutting Wisconsin’s prison population in half during his first race for Governor in 2018. Today, the prison population stands at just four percent less than it did at the time. We are spending more, but getting less. When it comes to corrections spending, it is not clear taxpayers are getting their money’s worth.