Change for Spending Government Taxes and Extra Money

We have been spending taxes for inmates to live better lives than the children and elderly who need it? There are only about 201,628 people in prison and millions living in deplorable conditions.

According to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), 86% of nursing homes in Texas did not reach the Federal standards governing quality of care and 94% did not reach the required minimum staffing levels. There are currently 1.5 million nursing home residents living in these homes and the population of the residents is projected to quadruple to 6.6 million by 2050. Many nursing homes, through various and recent studies by the U.S. General Accounting Office and others, have failed to meet Federal health standards. Hundreds of residents have been injured or victimized due to negligent care that often resulted in the death of a resident or serious injuries, physical abuse, sexual abuse, or exploitation. Under the Federal law, the nursing homes are supposed to “provide services and activities to attain or maintain the highest practicable physical, mental, and psychosocial well-being of each resident.” Obviously this is not happening.

We all want our children to grow up with a good, no, high level of education. But did you know that as much as it may seem they are getting that higher education, they might not be. In Texas alone, prison spending rose 346%, while higher education spending only rose 47%. That’s about six times higher the rate of higher education spending. “It is sad that our states are finding it easier to contribute more to incarcerating our men and women and creating a downward spiral of poverty and destitution rather than investing through our educational system to create an upward spiral of accomplishment and achievement,” said Hilary O. Shelton, director of the NAACP Washington Bureau. I agree to the fullest. It has been proven through many studies, those who receive a higher education are more likely to achieve versus committing a crime or felony.

So why isn’t the government spending more money on the education system or nursing homes? They are spending money on luxuries in prisons. Some government officials even use the extra money that could be spent on more important things, on remodeling their homes. Prisons with convenient stores and cable TV, remodeling homes already so nice many people envy them; these are the problems that need to be stopped. More effort and investments need to be made for the benefit of society. This petition is to reallocate funds so we can take care of our elderly and our children's education.