Dan Penird's letter of 2/26 highlights the corrupt earmarking process ... something that was pointed out years ago on Tom Brokaw's NBC “The Fleecing of America.” For over two decades Brokaw identified ways that the government wastes millions of dollars of taxpayers money. (One segment identified an enormous waste of taxpayers' money and assets in prisons. New York state's prison system was mentioned.)

Since the 1970s, prisons in our state have become big business. Coincidentally, this is also when Senator Michael Nozzolio came into office.

Early on, the senator secured his power base with guards, lobbying hard for new prisons, which translated to jobs in rural areas where few other job growth opportunities existed. (Eight of the last 10 prisons were built in his district thus providing hundreds of needed jobs for his voting constituency.) Is it any wonder then that the guards' union (NYSCOBA) remains one of his largest campaign contributors?

Stated in the March, 2003 Department of Corrections Newsletter, the senator says, “he thinks twice about every expenditure to make certain he is spending taxpayers' dollars in the most efficient and effective manner.” However, as chairman of the Crimes and Corrections Committee, he has proven otherwise!

For example, the ratio of guards to inmates has significantly increased. Jobs once done by inmates have also been replaced by highly paid civilians. Most of these unnecessary salaries have increased the state's prison budget by millions.

Of course, “earmarks” are welcomed by the senator's pet projects and preferred supporters, companies and organizations; however, when a state's deficit is in the billions and we are having to borrow money in order to run our state government -- paying exorbitant interest annually in the millions of dollars - my question to the senator is: “Isn't it illegal to hand out borrowed money without the taxpayers' permission?

Joyce Hackett Smith-Moore

Moravia