The United States has an incarceration problem. The number of people imprisoned in the U.S. far outpaces anywhere else in the industrial world. Our prison system is part of both a corrupt apparatus of justice and a system of white supremacy, and it’s hard to see where the problem begins and where it ends. That being said, one of the most pressing issues is the school-to-prison pipeline, the systemic excessive (and frequently criminal) punishment of students of color that leads to more young people ending up in prison. The basis of how and why this exists is clear: race and money. The amount of money and resources spent putting people in prison, and keeping them there, so far outweighs the resources invested in our young people’s education that it reads like a comedy sketch. A tragic, terrible comedy sketch.
Here are the top ten states with the most lopsided prisoner-to-student spending ratios:
No. 1: California California spends more than five-and-a-half times as much on inmates as it does on students—and, one of the richest states in the country, it doesn’t spend that much on students in the first place.
- Per-Pupil Spending: $11,495.33
- Average Cost per Inmate: $64,642
- Difference: $53,146.67
No. 2: New York New York spends the most per student of any state in the union! It spends about 310 percent more on incarcerating those students once they’re old enough.
- Per-Pupil Spending: $22,366.37
- Average Cost per Inmate: $69,355
- Difference: $46,988.63
No. 3: Connecticut Another top spender per student, Connecticut still spends more than three times as much on prisoners.
- Per-Pupil Spending: $18,957.84
- Average Cost per Inmate: $62,159
- Difference: $43,201.16
No. 4: New Jersey The Dirty Jersey is one of the top spenders on students. But it costs money to keep people in a cage for smoking weed, y’all!
- Per-Pupil Spending: $18,402.35
- Average Cost per Inmate: $61,603
- Difference: $43,200.65
No. 5: Rhode Island Rhode Island spends almost four times as much on prisoners as it does on students. It’s also ranked in the top ten of states with the most student-loan debt. Yeehaw!
- Per-Pupil Spending: $15,531.56
- Average Cost per Inmate: $58,564
- Difference: $43,032.44
No. 6: Vermont Vermont is always ranked in the top five spenders per student. Yay! But it also spends almost four times as much on prisoners. Boo!
- Per-Pupil Spending: $17,872.88
- Average Cost per Inmate: $57,615
- Difference: $39,742.12
No. 7: Massachusetts Massachusetts is top-ten ranked in spending on students, but still spends a little under three times as much prisoners.
- Per-Pupil Spending: $15,592.74
- Average Cost per Inmate: $55,170
- Difference: $39,577.26
No. 8: Alaska Alaska is also ranked in the top ten when it comes to most spending per student. Of course, spending on prisoners is still more lucrative.
- Per-Pupil Spending: $17,509.98
- Average Cost per Inmate: $52,633
- Difference: $35,123.02
No. 9: Oregon Oregon is in the bottom half of what’s spent per student, but it is one of the top spenders when it comes to inmates.
- Per-Pupil Spending: $10,841.59
- Average Cost per Inmate: $44,021
- Difference: $33,179.41
No. 10: Maryland While Maryland is ranked 13th in most spending per student, it still opens up the wallet quite a bit wider when it comes to spending on prisoners.
- Per-Pupil Spending: $14,205.77
- Average Cost per Inmate: $44,601
- Difference: $30,395.23
That is terrible. The need to invest in our public-education system is never more apparent than when you look at the dunderheads running our country right now. Our country’s teachers are some of our most important resources, and we continue to nickel and dime them, while spending tons of money lining the pockets of those who profit from imprisoning people. The prison-industrial complex knows that the word is out, and it has spent record amounts of money trying to hold onto its bought-and-paid-for legislators.
The next time you see a politician bringing up the phrase “balanced budget” when asked about adding money to our public-education system, remember this: The only time most of these officials are willing to entertain the idea of adding money to public-education budgets is when they discuss putting guns, secure doors, bulletproof glass, and metal detectors into schools—all of the things that make a prison a prison. And most of the time, when they talk about doing things like that, they don’t mean to add any money to the school—just to take it away from the students themselves.