State prison guards union block reform

“By taking advantage of a decades-old bidding war between Democrats and Republicans, all of whom want the union’s endorsement in order to appear tough on crime, the union has resisted any reform that would reduce costs in the state’s prison system.” Former Register editorial writer Steven Greenhut says the state’s powerful prison guards endeavor to jail as many Californians as possible–a kind of job insurance. Total cost to taxpayers: approximately $47,000 per prisoner per year, or about the cost of sending someone to the University of Southern California for one year. Read more of Greenhut’s City Journal article here.