College or prison?

By Sam Pizzo, Henderson

Friday, March 17, 2017 | 2 a.m.

On Jan. 16, Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo announced that she planned to propose that her state offer two tuition-free years of college for full-time students in public higher education.

Meanwhile, the U.S. houses 2.3 million inmates in American prisons at a cost of $31,977 per year for each inmate.

It makes good sense to try to help our young people who don’t have the means to educate themselves and may wonder off into crime. When we consider it costs $4,000 for a year of community college in Rhode Island, there’s no comparison between the two. Imagine if the whole country joined in, grabbed ahold of Raimondo’s college idea and was to able to reduce our prison population 5 or 10 percent.

What a tremendous savings for our country, plus a reduction in crime, and with a lower prison population at the same time.

Raimondo’s proposal is a win-win for the state of Rhode Island and a good idea for the rest of the country to consider.