More on Northern NY Prison Closings

NYCO has pointed to this editorial by the Kingston Daily Freeman concerning the closing of area prisons. It's hard to disagree with most of the editorial even though it was written with a downstate vs upstate attitude.

... the initiative of the Spitzer administration prompted a nearly unanimous outcry from the very Upstate political types otherwise most likely to flay Albany for mismanagement of a taxpayer's buck.

This is exactly right. Those NNY politicians, mostly Republicans, are the first to complain about high taxes and big government. But they are willing to settle for both if any change affects their rice bowl.

The prison, at base, is Upstate's idea of economic development, a government jobs program built primarily on the wealth-transferring business of incarcerating mostly Downstate convicts where Upstate residents can earn a living keeping an eye on them.

This is also right. Especially the part about downstate inmates being incarcerated in NNY. It can't be easy for the families of these inmates on visiting days.

The Hudson prison employs 277 workers, many of the semiskilled variety that require no college education. In the Empire State's postindustrial age, those sorts of jobs are increasingly hard to come by. Losing that number of jobs will hurt, even if all current employees are expected to be offered nearby jobs at other facilities.

Ok, true but a little harsh. These are great paying jobs. They pay as much as an area teacher or nurse probably makes. But I doubt a stupid person survives in these stressful jobs. Also, a fair amount of training is given to the employees of these prisons.

The truth is that Upstate is as addicted to the welfare statist model as anyone else.

This is what area people do not seem to understand. We, as a regional population, receive far more in State monies than we pay out. However, understanding that fact does little to help an area that is struggling for even half-way decent paying jobs.