Minnesota in orange and blue: Unemployment and corrections population up
Monday, March 09, 2009 at 8:10 am
- 8 Comments
Two maps released last week — one in orange, the other in blue — show the changing color of Minnesota’s outlook. One shows a county-by-county look at Minnesota’s 7.6 percent unemployment rate, with a dark orange band of high joblessness cutting across the northern part of the state. The other puts Minnesota in the top fifth of all states in the per capita rate of incarceration — at a time when cash-strapped governors are eyeballing corrections budgets in the search for fat to trim.
The New York Times created an interactive map showing unemployment rates in every county in the country. Zoom in to see how the “Great Recession” is playing here, and you’ll find northern Minnesota has some of the worst jobless rates in the country. Clearwater County’s 16.2 percent unemployment is double the national average – which rose to 8.1 percent in February -- and shows a spike of more than four percentage points since last year. Other high-unemployment counties: Kanabec (14.2); Mille Lacs (12.3); Cass, Wadena and Hubbard (11.6 each); Pine (11.3).
Meanwhile, Minnesota is among the top fifth of American states in incarceration rates, according to new data from The Pew Center on the States. Nationally, one out of every 31 adults is under “correctional control” (it’s the first time in American history that more than one in 100 adults was incarcerated), but in Minnesota the figure is one in 26. The report’s executive summary states that the growth of corrections costs for states is outpaced only by Medicaid spending, with $50 billion now spent annually — or one in every 15 discretionary dollars. In 2007, 2.6 percent of Minnesota’s general fund — or $460 million, according to the Pew report — goes to corrections, and that cared for 152,319 individual who were either paroled or in a correctional facility.
Gov. Tim Pawlenty has not specifically targeted the corrections budget (although there’s been some talk of utilizing a private prison to save money), but cuts to local government aid could drastically affect a related area: law enforcement. Last month, the state Department of Corrections released a video showing prison violence in hopes of getting a 1.9-percent increase in its budget from the governor. If DOC doesn’t get the increase, it claims it’ll have to terminate 194 positions.
8 Comments
Comment posted March 9, 2009 @ 8:42 am
Wow. Two dubious distinctions for Minnesota. I had no idea we were such a punitive state. Absolutely disgusting. Well done, Governor Pawlenty.
Comment posted March 9, 2009 @ 11:05 am
Legalize marijuana and sell it highly taxed to people 21 and over at liquor stores. Decriminalize all recreational drug use. In other words, no jail time should be served for simple possession and/or use. Use of illegal intoxicants is not the same as violent crime. These measures should reduce the violence around the illegal distribution networks surrounding the use of illegal intoxicants. And they should reduce the incarceration of people who essentially aren’t criminals, but users and addicts who should be treated the same way we treat alcoholics. This way we increase our tax revenues, create a new cash crop(Cannabis), and reduce our incarceration rates. The fact that this hasn’t already been done says a lot about how social conservatism is a destructive force in society with its treatment of people outside the mainstream and proselytizing of views that not everyone shares.
Comment posted March 9, 2009 @ 11:24 am
That’s actually very sad. Correction definitely does not help the recession. I think US’s economy is going to bottom at 2010, so long way to go MN!
http://www.wealthalchemist.com/Blog/2009/03/economy-bottom-mid2010/
Pingback posted March 9, 2009 @ 11:34 am
[...] Minnesota in orange and blue: Unemployment and corrections … [...]
Comment posted March 9, 2009 @ 12:16 pm
Looks like a lot of dark orange in Bachmann’s district. I hope they are happy they voted for her.
Comment posted March 9, 2009 @ 4:44 pm
What’s the actual incarceration rate in Minnesota, I thought it was much lower! The graphic displayed says “under correctional control” which to means on parole. The author even mentions that difference by referencing people in jail versus on parole!
I dislike t-paw’s policies but let’s reflect positively when Minnesota does something well. Afterall, though not legal, drug laws are fairly lax in mn…
Pingback posted March 10, 2009 @ 7:20 am
[...] for prison Minnesota is in the top fifth of all states in incarceration rates, reports Paul Schmelzer in MnIndy, with 152,319 individuals either in a correctional facility or on parole in 2007. That cost $460 [...]
Comment posted April 30, 2009 @ 12:42 pm
The incarceration rate (prison/jail) is significantly lower. The summary page for the state in the Pew Report shows the detail:
Acording to those numbers, of the ~152,000 under correctional control, ~18,000 are incarcerated, which puts us at 1 in 211 and 50th rank in the U.S. The remainder are on probation/parole (1 in 18, ranked 4th in U.S.), which is how the state gets into the upper 20% despite one of the lowest incarceration rates.
It was interesting to compare our situation to Wisconsin. Higher “correctional control” rate in MN (by half), but far lower incarceration rate and less than half the annual expense. Not sure that’s apples-to-apples, but it makes for some interesting reading.
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