“THE COST OF RECIDIVISM” is the title of this Times Union editorial. The edit-heads point to a report by The Independent Committee on Reentry and Employment on how to prevent former inmates from going back to prison.

The committee recommends, first and foremost, a wage subsidy program that would encourage employers to hire qualified ex-inmates. The cost is estimated to be about $25 million, but the payback would be huge -- some $3.6 million for every 100 ex-offenders who avoid rearrest or living on welfare.

Other recommendations are equally practical, such as more emphasis on "soft" skills training to better prepare inmates for jobs that do not require "hard skills" such as machine operation, and educating employers on hiring former offenders.

Sounds good to me. They think Eliot Spitzer and state leaders should check out the report.