UNDER LOCK AND KEY

The prison principle: Major kudos to Robert Nelson for his outstanding
cover story.

As a general rule, the more a state spends on prisons, the less that
state will spend on education. As an example, Louisiana spends the
most of any other state per capita on prisons and less than any other
state per capita on education. On the other hand, Minnesota spent the
most of any other state on education and less than any other state on
prisons.

Prisons and education compete for the same limited tax dollars. Which
is the better investment? Prisons or education?

Kirk Muse
Mesa