LANSING- Though removed from society, prisoners in Michigan are costly to the economic well-being of the state, according to budget numbers.

The rising cost of housing inmates is one of several factors in the state's further decline into a sea of red ink.

The Senate Fiscal Agency's estimate of the upcoming fiscal year's budget, didn't provide much good news for Michigan.

Liz Boyd, the press secretary for Gov. Jennifer Granholm, said the state faces a "tremendous budget problem" of an $819 million deficit in 2007.

Although the repeal of the Single Business Tax created a $1.25 billion loss, Boyd attributed the deficit to increased spending on Medicare and Corrections.

Leo Lalonde, public information officer for the Michigan Department of Corrections, said that each prisoner costs the state an average of $31,325 per year.

The prison population as of Jan. 1 was 51,454. At the same time in 2006 there were 49,377 prisoners.

However, there are programs in place intended to keep the future prison population lower.

One program is the Michigan Prisoner Re-entry Initiative, which prepares inmates for their life after release in an effort to keep them from becoming repeat offenders.