"Choosing college over prison"

Gov Schwarzenegger yesterday proposed transferring millions of dollars set aside for construction of prisons into the state's system of higher education instead.

The governor said he would also push for a constitutional amendment prohibiting the percentage of the state budget earmarked for prisons from exceeding what is set aside for its public university system.

This shows that with leadership, states can take a long-term view of their future. We can do the same here. Is our future one in which we prioritize prisons, or sending our kids to college?

(To read more on the proposal, and the California higher ed budget crisis, go here).