Right now we are spending approximately $200,000.00 per year for each person housed in the Oregon State Hospital for the Criminally Insane, as opposed to approximately $35,000.00 per inmate housed in the Oregon State Prison. A study shows that a family of 3 can live on approximately $23,000.00, not counting medical or dental expenses per year. My suggestion is that we limit tax dollars spent on inmates to $8000.00 per year. Given the fact that the land is owned by the state, there is no state property tax, it is group housing, and how much can one person eat per year at the 3 meal per day allotment provided by the state. I see no reason why an inmate, whether insane or not, should be allowed to have more of our tax dollars spent on them than we as working class citizens. Inmates also have full medical and dental cost coverage, while most of us have bare minimum or no coverage at all. When push comes to shove, this is where the truth is.....all inmates, be it insane or not, are guaranteed to have housing, 3 hot meals per day, medical and dental coverage, and even the opportunity for advanced education and certifications and diplomas, and degrees that we as working class citizens will never have the chance to obtain, simply because we do not have the financial funding to do so. Why should those who are down on their luck, lost their jobs, lost their homes, have to commit a crime to survive? Because if you look at it from this point of view, it is the only way to gain in life. If you agree, sign this petition, and with any luck, we can get something done on a State level, and maybe even a federal level.