Charge Inmates for TP?

[Banned]

D.M. County weighs charging inmates for toilet paper

By MOLLY HOTTLE
mhottle@dmreg.com

County budgets and toilet paper have one thing in common: Every little bit helps.

That's why leaders in Des Moines County will consider an idea to charge jail inmates for bathroom tissue to help wipe away a $1.7 million deficit next year.

The decision was driven, in part, by a Board of Supervisors edict that gave department heads an option: Cut costs or face employee furloughs or layoffs.

The county's budget director, Cheryl McVey, said billing inmates for toilet paper could save more than $2,300.

"We have to find out if it's an allowable expense," she said Thursday. "It's certainly not going to balance our budget."

McVey said she didn't know whether inmates would be charged by the sheet, square or roll. The savings estimate was provided by the maintenance department at the jail, where officials did not want to talk about the idea or where it originated.

Curt Braby, Louisa County sheriff and president of the Iowa State Sheriffs and Deputies Association, said he wasn't aware of any counties that have toilet paper fees on the books. He said inmates probably would choose to spend money from accounts established for necessities like shampoo and soap if asked to pony up for paper.

As for Des Moines County elected officials: "They've got budget problems, and they're looking for places to cut. But what do you do for the guy who hasn't got the dollar for the toilet paper?"


Here is an alternative option, stop feeding them and therefore eliminate the need for toilet paper.

[nakedtwister]

As for Des Moines County elected officials: "They've got budget problems, and they're looking for places to cut. But what do you do for the guy who hasn't got the dollar for the toilet paper?"




I say sod the floor of the cells, and let them drag their asses on the lawn like a dog.

[Banned]

As for Des Moines County elected officials: "They've got budget problems, and they're looking for places to cut. But what do you do for the guy who hasn't got the dollar for the toilet paper?"




I say sod the floor of the cells, and let them drag their asses on the lawn like a dog.

Sears Catalogs Are Still Free And with Over Thousand Sheets Their Good to Go, No Pun Intended

[Banned]

Over 12 percent of prisoners in the US are there for marijuana charges. If this stupid government and its so called "war on drugs" stops putting people in jail for non-crimes, this would not be an issue.

http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=7434

[songsmith]

+1, Joe. I've also read that 70% of monies spent on drug enforcement and punishment are for marijuana. If pot killed 70% of drug-related deaths, that might be fair, but it doesn't. There has never been a marijuana overdose, despite my own personal efforts.
They have kids killing themselves on the hard sh*t, but a pot bust is the easiest thing in law enforcement to achieve, so the system goes after the easy mark.
If 70% of people in jail were there for selling heroin, there would be no heroin problem, because there'd be almost no supply.----->JMS

[slackin@dabass]

+1, Joe. I've also read that 70% of monies spent on drug enforcement and punishment are for marijuana. If pot killed 70% of drug-related deaths, that might be fair, but it doesn't. There has never been a marijuana overdose, despite my own personal efforts.
They have kids killing themselves on the hard sh*t, but a pot bust is the easiest thing in law enforcement to achieve, so the system goes after the easy mark.
If 70% of people in jail were there for selling heroin, there would be no heroin problem, because there'd be almost no supply.----->JMS

isn't it ironic that people that smoke weed can still be valuable members of a society, but people that do heroin are just kinda... there? i'm so glad the government takes my money from me to put people like teachers, musicians and firefighters behine bars, just because they like to get a little high. go big brother, wooo hooo! where's that change everyone's been on about?

[metalchurch]

Somerset County charges you $10.00 a day for each day that you are incarcerated in their facility, whether you are allowed out for work release or not.

That bill remain with you and against your credit if you choose not to pay it.

Not sure what this shit is all about, but it doesnt sound right to me. There has to be some sort of health code there.
I'd imagine that they will supply them, but they will be billed for it once they hit the street.

So if thats the case, a good portion of those will not even pay it, so hows that going to take care of their deficit??

Those people make me sick sometimes.

How about we get rid of the illegal immigrants and spend that money on our own.

[Banned]

Both Blair and Cambria County jails also charge for incarceration.

[f.sciarrillo]

I have a question: How are these inmates going to pay for said tp? With cigarettes ?

[RobTheDrummer]

Well, in State Prison it's rare to find inmates that are in for using drugs. Big time dealers, yea. But the whole user debacle is more at the county level. Any way, the tp thing isn't that bad of an idea. Inmates are allowed three rolls in their room and if they bring an empty roll to the desk, they get another roll. However, they use other inmates rolls and such. For some reason they like to have a ton of TP. We shake down entire blocks from time to time, and we are always taking excess TP out of their cells. Last time we did a shake down, we got probably 100 extra rolls that were considered contraband. It's not that bad of a money saver, however is it going to fix the budget problem? I doubt it.

By the way, inmates have jobs inside the prison. They make .19 to .45 cents per hour. That's how they pay for commissary items and cigarettes.

[Banned]

I have a question: How are these inmates going to pay for said tp? With cigarettes ?

Might have to "finance" from Bubba.

[Plastered Bastards]

Make them use their socks to wipe with.
And then wear them,poopfoot

[Ron]

Make them use their socks to wipe with.
And then wear them,poopfoot

Poopfoot, Now that would be a good name for a band. LOL!

[metalchurch]

Yeah State prisoners have income available to them by working within the prison, but I was assuming that this was about a County Jail?
In the County there are 2 jobs available: Cook (4 people) or Janitorial (2 per floor).
I think they get $1.00 a day on their books iirc.

I know people who have gone to prison for a DUI, in fact someone very close to me went to Albion for 2-4 years for a DUI/ probabation revocation. (1st DUI, missed a court date,and violated their probation for getting a new charge, which was the DUI)
Bunch of shit if you ask me.
There's guys doing a mandatory 6 months for being behind or not paying their child support. That doesn't make sense to me. And they cant understand how the jail is over populated....

I'm speaking about Somerset County here.

[witchhunt]

How about we get rid of the illegal immigrants and spend that money on our own.

I've been saying this for years.

[songsmith]

I went through a phase where I watched that TV show, "Lockdown" a lot (I couldn't help it, it's on all night, I think). They seem to use TP for a lot of stuff... they were using it for fuel to heat up milk cartons full of water for coffee and "soup", they wet it and sculpt it into figurines, they use it to wrap shanks so they don't cut themselves, and probably as barter-currency to some extent.
Anybody ever see that jail in Arizona, where the sherriff makes them sleep in a tent outside and they work their balls off for every meal? I bet the recitivism rate is LOW there. --->JMS

[Naga]

The biggest problem in jails is this... They're given a LOT of leeway in a jail. I realize that not everything is perfect, but aside from overcrowding from a lot of people who shouldn't be in there, jails themselves are practically worthless for an attempt to "refine" the criminals of this country. There are a lot of people that go, and may not do whatever it is they did to get in there again, yeah. But then truth is, we're not giving criminals refinement time so much as relaxation time in a lot of effect. TV isn't any form of punishment. And how is allowing someone to lift weights and play sports in a jail any bit of help to society?

I remember talking with my cousin's X a good while ago. He was in jail for a bit and actually came out more healthy than when he went in... Much more lean, and stronger. Probably more aggressive as well. And I'm sure he's not the only one. We're not detering many criminals from doing what they do,... We're just making them better at it. Take a look at the odds of repeat violations. A lot of people are going in for simple things, but the ones that go in for bigger are probably going back to the bigger once they get out

[REDillon]

If you've got a criminal on death row, then get rid of him/her. They're a proven menace to society and will not give anything back to society once in it. Why do we, the tax payers, have to pay for them to get 3 meals and find God under their cot.

Super max prisons. Gas the whole complex. Get rid of every gang banger, serial abuser/molester/killer. What's the big damn deal. Most of them have been in and out of prisons for years and will not change, so get rid of them. What do they give back to society? Nothing. And, NO, this is not the same thing as the Nazi death camps.

Have a nice day.

[bassist_25]

I know people who have gone to prison for a DUI, in fact someone very close to me went to Albion for 2-4 years for a DUI/ probabation revocation. (1st DUI, missed a court date,and violated their probation for getting a new charge, which was the DUI)
Bunch of shit if you ask me.
There's guys doing a mandatory 6 months for being behind or not paying their child support. That doesn't make sense to me. And they cant understand how the jail is over populated....

I'm speaking about Somerset County here.

I have to agree with the Joe-ster here. Perhaps it makes me a bleeding heart, but I always remember that just because you're in prison doesn't mean you're a scumbag. Yes, there are A LOT of pieces of human excrement populating the prison system, and I have no sympathy for those people. If fact, I don't think we're tough enough on them. However, some people are in jail or prison because they made a mistake or were at the wrong place at the wrong time. My neighbor back in Houtzdale has been to prison. He's not an evil guy. He just made a few bad decisions when he was younger. I'm not saying that he should have walked away scott-free because of what he did. I do know, however, that he looks at his prison time the same way a veteran who has seen serious action looks at his or her tour. He committed a non-violent crime but was still with the rapists, killers, and other scum that don't have any regard for human life. To me, that's plain and simply wrong.

But I agree with the consesus here. America needs to quit throwing money down the endless hole known as the War on Drugs.

[Banned]

I know people who have gone to prison for a DUI, in fact someone very close to me went to Albion for 2-4 years for a DUI/ probabation revocation. (1st DUI, missed a court date,and violated their probation for getting a new charge, which was the DUI)
Bunch of shit if you ask me.
There's guys doing a mandatory 6 months for being behind or not paying their child support. That doesn't make sense to me. And they cant understand how the jail is over populated....

I'm speaking about Somerset County here.

I have to agree with the Joe-ster here. Perhaps it makes me a bleeding heart, but I always remember that just because you're in prison doesn't mean you're a scumbag. Yes, there are A LOT of pieces of human excrement populating the prison system, and I have no sympathy for those people. If fact, I don't think we're tough enough on them. However, some people are in jail or prison because they made a mistake or were at the wrong place at the wrong time. My neighbor back in Houtzdale has been to prison. He's not an evil guy. He just made a few bad decisions when he was younger. I'm not saying that he should have walked away scott-free because of what he did. I do know, however, that he looks at his prison time the same way a veteran who has seen serious action looks at his or her tour. He committed a non-violent crime but was still with the rapists, killers, and other scum that don't have any regard for human life. To me, that's plain and simply wrong.

But I agree with the consesus here. America needs to quit throwing money down the endless hole known as the War on Drugs.

I agree 100% with both...Not that anyone shouldn't pay for misdeeds, but there is a degree....Like yanking a joe of a job for a warrant for back support, making him lose his job...how the fuck does that help...Oh, don't wanna pay or can't...well, we'll just suspend your driving priveleges... so you can't get to work....WTF!!!

[JackANSI]

+1, Joe. I've also read that 70% of monies spent on drug enforcement and punishment are for marijuana. If pot killed 70% of drug-related deaths, that might be fair, but it doesn't. There has never been a marijuana overdose, despite my own personal efforts.
They have kids killing themselves on the hard sh*t, but a pot bust is the easiest thing in law enforcement to achieve, so the system goes after the easy mark.
If 70% of people in jail were there for selling heroin, there would be no heroin problem, because there'd be almost no supply.----->JMS

isn't it ironic that people that smoke weed can still be valuable members of a society, but people that do heroin are just kinda... there? i'm so glad the government takes my money from me to put people like teachers, musicians and firefighters behine bars, just because they like to get a little high. go big brother, wooo hooo! where's that change everyone's been on about?

You want to balance a budget? Make weed legal and tax it like cigarettes

[lonewolf]

You want to balance a budget? Make weed legal and tax it like cigarettes

Heh, heh, heh. That wouldn't even generate enough revenue to regulate it and collect taxes on it.

Lots of people smoke a pack of cigarettes a day, but how many people smoke that much weed? Not very many...and the ones who do...heh, heh, heh...the only beneficiaries will be the convenience stores and mattress manufacturers.

[Banned]

You want to balance a budget? Make weed legal and tax it like cigarettes

Heh, heh, heh. That wouldn't even generate enough revenue to regulate it and collect taxes on it.

Lots of people smoke a pack of cigarettes a day, but how many people smoke that much weed? Not very many...and the ones who do...heh, heh, heh...the only beneficiaries will be the convenience stores and mattress manufacturers.

Think about it though, if they would legalize marijuana...That would be something else the "Man" would control...remember, they tried it with alcohol and prohibition..And alcohol is still legal....Hmmm, wishful thinking.
But as far as smoking goes, I probably wouldn't even smoke cigarettes if weed were legal...

[lonewolf]

Alcohol and weed are mutually exclusive. Apples and oranges. It is not a valid comparison in any way, shape or form and I laugh at the illogic of it. Show me one person who doesn't want to get high, but smokes weed strictly for its flavor.

The painkilling aspect? ROFLMAO! What's that, you say? Demerol and vicodin doesn't do it for you?

Of course, being a substance abuser, the typical pothead assumes that all people drink alcohol do so to get drunk. Sorry, there are millions of people who drink alcohol solely for its flavor. Most of these people are NOT substance abusers.

I'm all for decriminalization, but as a former half pack a day pothead, please don't try to feed me bullshit...

Been there, done that and I didn't just get the T-shirt--I got the striped one with probation.

[slackin@dabass]

+1, Joe. I've also read that 70% of monies spent on drug enforcement and punishment are for marijuana. If pot killed 70% of drug-related deaths, that might be fair, but it doesn't. There has never been a marijuana overdose, despite my own personal efforts.
They have kids killing themselves on the hard sh*t, but a pot bust is the easiest thing in law enforcement to achieve, so the system goes after the easy mark.
If 70% of people in jail were there for selling heroin, there would be no heroin problem, because there'd be almost no supply.----->JMS

isn't it ironic that people that smoke weed can still be valuable members of a society, but people that do heroin are just kinda... there? i'm so glad the government takes my money from me to put people like teachers, musicians and firefighters behine bars, just because they like to get a little high. go big brother, wooo hooo! where's that change everyone's been on about?

You want to balance a budget? Make weed legal and tax it like cigarettes

i've thought this for years. if weed were legal, man, i'd be even more stoned every day. a few years ago i'd smoke a quarter about every week and a half. maybe not "a pack a day" but i smoke more than a pack a day in cigs, so what's the difference? the whole "apples to oranges" "weed to alcohol" thing. haha, what really cracks me up is how much more non toxic weed is than alcohol, but alcohol is classified with heroin and meth. yea, makes sense to me