FUND SCHOOLS--NOT PRISONS

Thanks for publishing Robert Sharpe's outstanding letter: "Jailhouse
Blues" (7-20-08).

School spending and prison spending go hand-in-hand.

Schools and prisons compete for the same limited tax dollars. Almost
always when a state ranks high in prison spending, that state will
rank low in school spending.

As an example, Louisiana spends more per capita on prisons than any
other state and less per capita than any other state on education.

On the other hand, Minnesota spends the least per capita on prisons
and the most per capita on education.

Investment in education is an investment in the future. Money spent
on prisons is gone forever - a complete waste.

The United States is the most incarcerated nation on the planet and in
history. With less than 5 percent of the world's population, the
United States has greater than 25 percent of the world's prisoners.
In other words, one out of every four prisoners in the world sits in a
U.S. jail or prison.

This fact should create our outrage - certainly not our
pride.

KIRK MUSE

Mesa, Ariz.