The Consumer Psychology of Supporting Aging Inmates

I recently read an article on the expense involved in keeping aging inmates alive in prison. Though I'm sure this issue has been prevalent since the dawn of prison reform, I can say with confidence that it is probably even more pressing today with the average person living longer and the cost of health care skyrocketing. The prison system itself has its pros and cons. Some say prison is good for society because it provides a means of either reintegrating disadvantaged people who engage in criminal behavior back into society or protecting society from those who will not be reformed. On the other hand, some ask, 'Why should they get free ride while we slave away all day at work just because they killed someone and we didn't?' The issue is intensified when we are speaking of the elderly, however. They are older and maybe a bit more helpless but, at the same time, they are getting an even 'freer' ride because they cost more. The question, then, to be considered in what we should do with older prisoners is one of investment.

The consumer in this situation, the one who is making a decision based on his or her values, is the taxpayer. The individual taxpayer must ask himself, 'To what extent am I willing to give up my purchasing power so that elderly criminals can be taken care of?' or, more simply, 'when does it get too expensive?' At its core, the decision is no different than buying any other product. Take a house, for example. If you are shopping for a house, there are houses that will cost too little. You wouldn't think about buying a house that is falling apart. By the same token, there will at some point be a house that you decide has a cost that is beyond your means--and you will not buy that house. Similarly, many taxpayers may have some level of sympathy for elderly prisoners and would be willing to contribute to their well-being to a certain extent. Yet, at some point, the cost of health care for elderly prisoners will be too high for taxpayers to even consider.

Or perhaps we will never reach that point. Perhaps, we will prefer to complain about the rising costs of taxes than to tread upon such ethically unsettling ground. Regardless, I wish merely to point out that it is a question of values. The taxpayer--or consumer--will always be willing to pay as much as he or she sees as beneficial. Even if the only benefit becomes avoiding dystopian conflict, the taxpayer is always asserting his values when he opts for how his tax dollars are to be spent.