I hate using an article from Bloomberg.com, but like a broken clock, they’re right occasionally.
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s plan to quell his city’s gun violence with more jail time is running into Illinois fiscal reality as well as claims that mandatory prison sentences, popular in statehouses for decades, are unaffordable and ineffective deterrents to crime.
Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-11-07/no-room-for-emanuel-to-jail-gun-criminals-tormenting-city.html
Yes, there are times “Rahmbo” removes head for arse and realizes that putting actual criminals in jail is far more effective than harassing law-abiding gun owners, however, his plan has a problem.
The state Department of Corrections projects the tougher penalties sought by Emanuel would increase the prison population by 3,400 and cost taxpayers $866 million, even as the state faces $100 billion in unfunded pension liabilities and a $9 billion backlog of unpaid bills.
That’s the problem with socialism, by the time you’re done funding the arts, recycling, funding community groups that should be self-funded, you find out there’s not enough money to do what actually needs to be done.