Definitions
What is retribution?
Punishing people because they broke the law/violated moral codes
Are city jails regulated by the state?
Amazingly, no.
Why is there a push to keep people out of prisons and instead put low-level offenders on probation?
It's much cheaper
Understand the policy cycle:
1. agenda setting
2. policy formulation
3. policy adoption
4. policy implementation
5. policy evaluation
What are some welfare assistance programs?
TANF- Both
SNAP- Feds
CHIP- Both
What does the term just deserts refer to?
proportionate and consistent
punishment
Texas has a law and order political culture-- what does that mean?
We lock people up for everything
We love putting people in prison
We love killing people to show that killing is wrong
What leads to massive incomme inequality in Texas?
Many jobs are low paying jobs that likely offer no benefits
What is a redistributive policy?
A policy that moves money from one group to another
What are some things that make poverty a complex policy issue?
It's inherently difficult to solve in one policy
It's a complex issue
There isn't a consensus on how to solve it
Define incapacitation in the legal sense
remove guilty from society to
prevent more crime
What were some key factors of early prisons?
Forced labor camps, prisoners were not given food if they didn't work
Tried to keep public cost as low as possible
Segregated
Is the amount of death sentences increasing or decreasing in Texas?
Decreasing
What is a developmental policy?
A policy that supports economic development
Who does poverty disproportionately affect?
Children
Female headed-households
Minorties
What is the idea of frontier heritage?
Cowboys
Stand your ground laws, Castle Doctrine
Blow people away for stepping on your property
What did Ruiz v. Estelle accomplish?
The case found that Texas was violating inmate's constitutional rights
Found that prisons were underfunded (lack of food and clothing), overcrowded, staff were brutal towards inmates
Texas had to build more prisons and treat prisoners more like human beings.
Who does the bail system disproportionately affect?
Lower-income people
What is the revolving door of politics?
When someone gets a job as a government regulator, then goes to work for a corporation, then goes back into government
They keep influencing policy decisions to be more favorable to the corporate sector
What is the Gini Coefficient?
A number that indicates the degree of income inequality that ranges from 0-1.
Numbers closer to 0 indicate extreme income inequality, while numbers closer to 1 indicate more equal income distribution
What is restorative justice?
Type of justice that focuses on healing between the community, perp, and victim
What is the prison for profit scheme?
Corporations building and managing state prisons for profit. It's terrible
What casued Texas prisons to fill so quickly?
(Hint: its a war on something)
Public Enemy No.1: Drugs and Drug Abuse
The War on Drugs
What is a regulatory policy?
A policy that implements legal restrictions
How is Medicaid funded?
Mostly by the feds at 62.5%, Texas chips in 37.5%.