[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 1 (Tuesday, January 25, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: January 25, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                     POLITICS OF PRISONS IS A CRIME

 Mr. SIMON. Mr. President, over the holidays, my wife and I 
spent a week's vacation in Florida. It was the first time in many years 
we have had a week in Florida, and we enjoyed it.
  While I was in Florida, I picked up the Tampa Tribune, and there was 
a column by Daniel Ruth in which he talks candidly about the easy 
politics of calling for more and more prisons and longer and longer 
sentences and, basically, not doing anything about the crime problem.
  I cast one of four votes against the crime bill that passed the 
Senate a few weeks ago. I recognize that it was not a popular vote. I 
also cast one of four votes against the amendment to spend $3 billion 
more on additional Federal prisons.
  We are being ``tough on crime,'' and we can make great speeches about 
it, but we are not being smart on crime, and it is about time we start 
getting smart on crime.
  A few weeks ago, I inserted into the Record an op ed piece from the 
Los Angeles Times in which a Catholic priest, who is a prison chaplain, 
asked a group of prisoners in his class what they thought we should be 
doing to stop crime. It was interesting that very little of what we had 
in our crime bill coincided with what they recommended--these experts 
on crime.
  I ask to insert the Daniel Ruth column into the Congressional Record 
at the end of my remarks.
  Let me just add that we now have 510 people per 100,000 in our 
prisons and jails, more than any other country, by far. South Africa is 
second with 311, and Canada trails at 109.
  We ought to be doing some sensible things on crime and not things 
that get votes for us back home.
  The article follows:

                        [From the Tampa Tribune]

                     Politics of Prisons Is a Crime

                            (By Daniel Ruth)

       When the going gets tough, the tough run for governor
       It's a good thing, too. Because if you're gonna be 
     governor, you gotta be tough. That's because there are all 
     sorts of tough issues, demanding tough decisions, requiring 
     tough people to make those, well, tough decisions.
       And what tougher problem do we have in this state than 
     crime? Tough problem.
       But we're blessed in this great state of Florida because 
     all of the men running for governor and even those who aren't 
     running for governor even though they really are running for 
     governor are all tough on crime--every man jack of them.
       It's a law or something that you can't run for public 
     office, any public office, from student body president at the 
     University of South Florida to governor, unless you've come 
     out foursquare against crime.
       There are a number of ways to make it clear to the 
     electorate that you're so tough on crime that if Pablo 
     Escobar were still alive, he'd wish he was dead rather than 
     do criminal combat against you because of course you're so 
     galldarned tough on crime.
       Tougher sentencing is always a popular piece of political 
     jabberwocky. Tougher sentences and longer sentences. Yep, 
     that's the ticket. A tough ticket, too. People just love to 
     hear about tougher and longer sentences. More importantly, 
     they love to hear candidates talk tough about tougher and 
     longer sentences.


                      prison cells like model t's

       More prisons. And tougher prisons. Even though this state 
     has been churning out prisons like so many Model Ts, the 
     people want more of them. We need more prisons because we 
     have so much crime. And we have to get tough on crime. 
     Because if we don't get tough on crime and stop mollycoddling 
     all these criminals, well, we'll just have to build more 
     prisons.
       As any politician will tell you, the more attention you 
     need in your bid for office is in direct proportion to how 
     many more prisons beds we need. For example, Gov. Lawton 
     Chiles wants 15,000 new beds. However, Republican hopeful Jeb 
     Bush insists we need 50,000 new beds, which would accommodate 
     a doubling of the existing prison population.
       You have to talk tough on crime because the voter insists 
     upon it. The voters are rightfully scared out of their wits 
     that some piece of vermin will rob them, or rape them, or 
     beat them or murder them, or perhaps all of that.
       And what better way to soothe those voter fears than to 
     work harder and tougher than all the other candidates to 
     become the toughest hombre on the campaign trail when it 
     comes to getting tough on crime?
       Of course, it goes without saying that calling for tougher 
     sentences and tougher prisons accomplishes very little when 
     it comes to curbing crime. That's why you go without saying 
     anything about it. That wouldn't be very tough.


                     A fair amount of lip-flapping

       Tough crime talk at least makes people feel momentarily 
     secure. It makes them feel and somebody at least cares about 
     them and wants to do something for them, which in the final 
     analysis amounts to only a fair amount of lip-flapping.
       No politician--at least no pol who wants to get elected--is 
     going to ever level with the voter about crime.
       That would require telling the public things the public 
     doesn't want to hear. It would require some political 
     courage.
       The mythically honest candidate would say to the voter: 
     ``If we really want to do something about crime, we must 
     attack a complex range of social issues--all at once. We have 
     to find people jobs so that they don't need to turn to crime. 
     But before they can get a job, they must be educated. And 
     before they can be educated, they have to learn about 
     personal responsibility and developing a work ethic.
       ``We have to reform a welfare system that tears families 
     apart and creates generation after generation of 
     institutionalized dependence.
       ``All that and much, much, much more is where crime comes 
     from. And it will take generations to fix what took 
     generations to create. Building more prisons doesn't solve 
     the crime problem--it's like a huge truck that hauls away 
     oranges from the grove. There's always plenty of more oranges 
     left on the trees.''
       But you won't hear any of that from the men who would be 
     Lawton. Which may explain, all too sadly, why we will always 
     need more prisons. Tough luck.

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