This blog post allows me to tell prison stories. Not that I was in prison, but I formerly was in charge of the budgets of state prisons while an Iowa legislator.
A constant controversy is over what prisoners can access. I filed a bill that would allow county jails to feed prisoners frozen dinners as a way of saving taxpayer money. After I proposed the bill, I was asked to meet with representatives of something called the American Dietary Association. Did you know such a organization exists????
Other controversies in Iowa have involved prisoners having access to porn or premium cable. New Zealand is now embroiled in a similar controversy.
New Zealand 's prison system is taking criticism after spending nearly 700-thousand dollars on slushie machines. The money was spent on around 200 of the treat dispensers, a preventative measure after record hot temperatures during the 2017/2018 summer. The idea was to reduce tension between staff and prisoners and the government found slushies were more effective than fans or wet face cloths.
While the opposition National party is calling it a waste of money, a top prison official says the machines worked, because there were no major incidents in prisons over the 2018/2019 summer.
That's the other side of these controversies: prison officials often say access to such things help maintain order. That said, do you think slushies are a good investment?